Gothenburg Summit 2001
The EU summit in Gothenburg was a meeting of the European Council in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2001 . The meeting took place on June 15 and 16, but was overshadowed by the riots around the summit.
Topics and participants
In addition to the host Göran Persson , all heads of state and government of the EU member states were invited. A meeting between George W. Bush and the summit participants took place one day before the actual summit . The summit took place at the end of the Swedish Presidency.
The main topic of the meeting was the reform and expansion of the European Union and the development of a sustainability strategy. Shortly before the summit was Ireland the Nice Treaty in a referendum rejected. The economic development of the Union and its role in international conflicts, particularly in the Middle East and the Western Balkans, were also discussed.
The joint declaration on the EU / US Summit emphasized the similarities between Europe and the United States. The strengthening of democracy and free trade, the fight against poverty and the protection of the environment were identified as essential tasks.
Demonstrations
Around 25,000 demonstrators were expected in Gothenburg for the duration of the meeting. In addition to EU opponents, mainly critics of globalization , members of the peace movement and anti-capitalists demonstrated . The Swedish police were not up to the violent protests. Riots broke out after the police surrounded the Hvitfeldtska grammar school, where several hundred activists were based, before the demonstration began on the morning of June 14. 459 people were arrested. On June 15, a police officer fired several shots at demonstrators. In addition to two leg hits, one person was critically injured by a shot in the stomach.
The causes and backgrounds of the riots have been detailed in an investigation report by the Swedish government. The report found "serious errors" in the work of the police. In particular, the work at the Hvitfeldtska grammar school was "poorly crafted" and "inappropriately restricted people's freedom of movement on the school premises". The police were not adequately equipped and trained to combat violent excesses. For example, they had no water cannons , tear gas or rubber bullets . The police union ( Polisförbundet ) also came to the conclusion in a study that "the management of operations during the EU summit could be summed up in one word: chaos".
In 2003 the film Terrorister - en film om dom dömda by Lukas Moodysson and Stefan Jarl was released , which deals critically with criminal prosecution by the judiciary and the police.
Web links
- Presidency conclusions - Gothenburg, 15-16 June 2001 (PDF file; 90 kB)
- EU-US SUMMIT: A GUIDE (English)
- Rudolf Wagner: EU Summit: Nightmare Gothenburg on June 16, 2001 on Spiegel Online
- Amnesty International Country Report Sweden for 2001 (with section on police human rights violations during protests)
- Investigation report from the Swedish government (Swedish, English summary)
- Judgment by the people's vote in Gothenburg
- Gothenburg judgments: four years imprisonment for a handful of text messages
Individual evidence
- ^ Tadzio Mueller : “What's Really Under Those Cobblestones?” (PDF; 246 kB) In: Ephemera Vol. 4, No. 4, 2004, pp. 135–151. here: pp. 137, 149 ff.
- ↑ a b Summary of the government report, p. 6
- ↑ http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/136/a/3816;jsessionid=ab4U-mW4Nfb6
- ↑ The study "Kaos" - om kommenderingen i Göteborg June 2001 Archive link ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. is based on a survey of 1,800 police officers who were on duty during the summit.
