CBC News reports:

The European Union is expected to pass a motion Wednesday urging European countries to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Beijing unless Chinese authorities begin talks with the Dalai Lama.

The motion, which is non-binding, stems from China’s crackdown in Tibet after violent protests against Chinese rule broke out last month.

“There is this growing momentum to send some sort of signal to China,” CBC’s David Common said.

The resolution by the 27-member union obtained by Reuters says:

“The European Parliament calls on the EU presidency in office to strive to find a common EU position with regard to attendance at the Olympic Games opening ceremony with the option of non-attendance in the event if there is no resumption of dialogue between the Chinese authorities and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”

Common said the motion is expected to pass.

This is great news. The EU continues to be a moral leader on Tibet and the Olympics. Now we need individual member states to take action to give this resolution real weight. I’d hope that the nations voting to pass this resolution do go through and boycott the opening ceremonies. Moreover, I hope they extend their involvement in this issue to include calling on the IOC to cancel the portion of the Torch Relay that runs through Tibet. Non-binding resolutions are better than press releases or doing nothing, but continual pressure on the IOC and China is better than a resolution.