Senior European Union officials head to Washington on Monday for a two-day trip to gain more information about Guantanamo inmates it may be asked to take in after the United States closes the detention camp in Cuba.
欧盟高级官员星期一前往华盛顿访问两天，了解美国在古巴关塔纳摩拘押中心的在押人员的更多情况。美国决定关闭这个拘押中心后可能会请欧盟接收部分在押人员。
During their Washington visit, E.U. officials will seek to learn more about dozens of Guantanamo detainees they may be asked to take in as part of President Barack Obama's plans to close the detention center in a year.
欧盟官员访问华盛顿的时候将谋求了解几十名关塔纳摩在押人员的情况。作为奥巴马总统在一年内关闭这个拘押中心计划的一部分，美国可能请求欧盟接收部分在押人员。
Among other things, the European Union wants to know about security risks ex-inmates may pose, the reasons they were held, and why they cannot return to their home countries. If the ex-detainees are found to be innocent, Europe also wants to know why the United States cannot keep them on its territory.
欧盟希望了解的情况包括，这些前在押人员可能带来的安全风险、他们被拘押的原因以及他们为什么不能返回原来的国家。如果这些人被证明是无辜的，欧洲还希望了解为什么美国不能让他们留在美国。
Europe strongly lobbied for Washington to close the Guantanamo detention center. Now that Mr. Obama says he will, several European countries, including Portugal, France and Spain, have said they may be willing to take in ex-detainees. Last month, the European parliament voted overwhelmingly for the European Union to accept detainees.
欧洲国家曾努力游说美国关闭这个拘押中心。现在奥巴马表示他将这样做，包括葡萄牙、法国和西班牙在内的欧洲国家表示，他们可能愿意收留这些前在押人员。上个月，欧洲议会以压倒多数表决同意欧盟接受在押人员。
At a recent press conference, E.U. lawmaker Sarah Ludford from Britain said now is the time for Europe to act.
欧洲议会议员英国人鲁德福德在最近一次记者会上说，现在是欧洲行动的时候了。
"Europe needs to step up to the plate," Ludford said. "There are a lot of fancy pronouncements - one of which is to call for the closure in Guantanamo. Well, we have a saying in English that you need to put your money where your mouth is."
他说：“欧洲需要开始行动了。我们作过很多动听的宣示，其中之一就是要求关闭关塔纳摩。英语有句俗语说，光说不练嘴把式。”
In February, an Ethiopian-born British resident, Binyam Mohamed, returned to Britain after being released from Guantanamo. Britain wants Washington to send back one other British-connected detainee.
今年2月，埃塞俄比亚出生的英国公民宾亚姆-穆罕默德从关塔纳摩获释后返回英国。英国要求美国送回另一名跟英国有关的在押人员。
But other European countries have expressed reservations about accepting detainees, with some politicians arguing Guantanamo is America's problem to fix. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named a special envoy to work with countries to accept Guantanamo detainees so the prison can be closed.
但是，其他欧洲国家却对接收在押人员有保留。有些政治人士争辩说，关塔纳摩是美国的问题，应该由美国解决。上星期，美国国务卿克林顿任命了一名特使，跟各国安排接收关塔纳摩在押人员的事宜，以便关闭这个拘押中心。 |