The new Germany presidency of the European Union hopes to make Holocaust denial and use of Nazi symbols a prosecutable crime across the now 27 member European Union, according to Federal Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries.

Zypries and German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who hosted a meeting of European justice and interior ministers in Dresden, have put the issue on the agenda of the two-day talks and of Germany"s six-month EU presidency.

She urged EU nations to agree on new common rules to combat racism and xenophobia within the EU as soon as possible, including the introduction of minimum EU-wide jail terms - which she said should be between one and three years - against those who purposely incite racist violence or hatred, or those who deny the genocide of Jews during World War II.

A similar European Commission proposition two years ago to set minimum jail terms for hate-crimes ended in failure, however, after ministers were unable to agree. Several countries, notably Britain and Italy, see such tough measures as overstepping the rights of expression under their national laws.

The purpose of this so-called “framework decision” was to ensure that in EU laws are harmonised so that racism and xenophobia are uniformly punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties.

The justice minister mentioned that some countries still might be opposed. "One or the other member states has serious concerns about it, but I am hopeful that we will make progress," German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries told reporters before the Dresden meeting.

Holocaust denial is illegal in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Spain.

In an interview with the Netzeitung news agency, Dieter Wiefelsputz, domestic political speaker for the Social Democratic Party, said Nazi symbols serve as an “identification tool” for right-wing extremists, “standing for an inhuman ideology.”

Germany, which currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, has a responsibility to lead the fight against right-wing radicals because of its Nazi past, Wiefelsputz said.

This week Hindu groups in Europe announced that they are joining forces to oppose the proposal banning the display of Nazi symbols, saying the swastika symbolizes peace and not hate, according to Reuters.

"The swastika has been around for 5,000 years as a symbol of peace. This is exactly the opposite of how it was used by Hitler," said Ramesh Kallidai of the Hindu Forum of Britain to Reuters.