The European Parliament,

A. having regard to the tragic incidents in recent weeks in Brussels, Sartrouville, Mantes-la-Jolie, les Mureaux, and other European cities, towns and districts, resulting in the deaths of several young people and a policewoman,

B. whereas there have been several similar acts of violence and clashes between young people and the police over the last few years in the poorer districts of large European cities and their suburbs,

C. whereas violence is not inevitable and must not become an established means of solving problems,

D. whereas both the authorities and the young people in these districts must try to find ways of communicating calmly and not allow themselves to be caught up in this spiral of violence,

E. whereas the authorities and political parties must not exploit the situation by whipping up tension but must devote and mobilize themselves to finding a solution to the isolation suffered by these young people and families in the suburbs,

F. having regard to its resolution of 22 November 1990OJ No. C 324, 24.12.1990, p. 210, on the incidents in Vaulx-en-Velin triggered by the death of Thomas Claudio, its resolution of 14 June 1990OJ No. C 175, 16.7.1990, p. 178 on the problem of urban housing, and the findings of its Committee of Inquiry into Racism and Xenophobia,

1. Strongly condemns the use of violence, regardless of its cause, and deplores the fact that the current conflicts in the suburbs have resulted in a number of tragic deaths;

2. Regrets that it is only through violence that attention is drawn to the problems of disadvantaged districts and the young people living in them, which are facing the cities;

3. Condemns the discriminatory controls and the use of violence against people held in custody and calls for anyone held in police custody to be given the right to speak to someone from the outside, in particular a lawyer;

4. Condemns all policies advocating wholesale repression without solving the problems of inequality and discrimination; emphasizes the danger of an irrevocable split between the institutions and the young people affected by this approach;

5. Considers that solutions cannot be found without discussion and a comprehensive programme to tackle these problems, and the establishment of a permanent dialogue between local representatives, the authorities, and groups and associations, focusing on the following aspects:

(a) determined efforts to combat poverty, unemployment and insecure employment conditions,

(b) equal housing rights for all,

(c) the right to quality education and training, with priority given to the less-privileged areas,

(d) equal access to employment, particularly in the civil service,

(e) the political, economic and cultural integration of immigrants;

6. Calls on the Commission to draw up an action programme in aid of the disadvantaged districts of the large European towns and cities and their suburbs;

7. Calls on the Commission to carry out a study into housing conditions, the rise of poverty and marginalization in large cities in the Community;

8. Calls on the Commission and the Council to consider emergency financial aid for the associations working in these districts which do everything possible to create meeting places and social centres and to ensure equality before the law;

9. Calls on the Member States to implement a specific programme to support young people in their attempts to integrate in social, economic and cultural life, and to establish an emergency plan to halt this spiral of violence;

10. Calls on the Member States to improve the recruitment and training of officials of the institutions working in these districts in order to improve their understanding of the population for whose education, safety and protection they are responsible;

11. Instructs its appropriate committee to submit a report by the end of 1991 on all the problems of the major European cities and their suburbs;

12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, and the parliaments and governments of the Member States.