France floats EU plan on Guantanamo

France has drafted a plan for European Union countries to accept 60 detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp that US President Barack Obama wants to close, German magazine Der Spiegel said today.

The foreign ministry in Paris refused to comment on the report, which said France had sent the plans to European capitals before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

European governments, which have for years called for the camp to be closed, are under pressure to help Obama find a home for some of the approximately 245 remaining detainees.

Der Spiegel said France had proposed EU countries offer homes to about 60 inmates who were deemed innocent but would risk persecution or torture if sent to their home countries.

In Germany and across the EU, governments are divided on whether to accept inmates. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has expressed a willingness to accept some detainees while Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is opposed. The foreign ministry declined to comment on the Spiegel report.

The French plan proposes every EU nation should decide itself whether it wants to take in refugees from Guantanamo and how many, Der Spiegel said. Non-EU states such as Norway and Switzerland should also be contacted about taking in inmates.

In Paris, a ministry spokesman declined comment but referred to a statement issued yesterday: "We have said we were ready to favourably consider, on a case by case basis, individual requests that we may receive concerning prisoners freed from Guantanamo."

The Guantanamo prison, known for aggressive interrogation methods, is widely seen in the EU as a stain on America's human rights record. It has held more than 750 captives from around the world since opening in 2002, most of them without trial.