Europe not excited about Gitmo inmates

BRUSSELS, June 18 (UPI) -- The EU may say it is committed to help the United States resettle inmates from Guantanamo Bay, but only a handful of European governments have so far agreed to take in prisoners.

Earlier this week Italy became the third country in Europe to accept prisoners from the infamous military prison in Cuba. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Italy would take three detainees to help U.S. President Barack Obama in his plan to close the camp by the end of this year.

The announcement came on the heels of a joint EU-U.S. statement laying out the rules for such cooperation: European nations would take in individual inmates, and America in return would guarantee to help shoulder costs on a case-by-case basis and provide intelligence on the detainees.

France has agreed to take one prisoner, while Britain has already welcomed several. But London is not exactly ecstatic over the prospect of resettling more inmates. The view in Britain is that other European powers should now step up to the plate. Bermuda's decision to grant asylum to four Chinese Muslims freed from Guantanamo has angered Britain, its former colonial power.

Ireland, Belgium and Spain have signaled a general willingness to find new homes for former inmates, but concrete pledges have yet to be made. Madrid said Wednesday it is considering a request by Washington to relocate four prisoners to Spain.

One major European power and key U.S. ally has so far denied all U.S. requests.

Germany refused to take in a group of Uighurs, Muslim separatists from China who would face persecution if they returned home. Germany has a large Uighur minority living near Munich, and they are well integrated, but Berlin fears diplomatic repercussions from Beijing if it accepts the inmates.

German news magazine Der Spiegel earlier this week reported that Germany's Interior Ministry denied another U.S. request to relocate two male inmates from Syria and Tunisia. Both men have received training by terrorists in camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the magazine writes.

German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has repeatedly called on Washington to set an example at home before calling on Europe for help.

"If none of the U.S. states are willing to take in Guantanamo inmates, then you will have to explain to the European public why the rules for Europe should be different from those in the United States," he said earlier this month.

At a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this month in Dresden, Obama said the negotiations with Germany would likely take several more months. Washington knows that Berlin won't make any concrete pledges before the German national elections this fall.

But whether or not Germany takes in prisoners, as one of 27 EU member states it will have to cooperate in a joint coordination on the issue. Once taken in by one country, the former inmates, thanks to the Schengen Agreement, would be able to travel and resettle anywhere in the EU.