The Hague, Oct 15 (IANS): The Netherlands should do more to combat racial discrimination, a Council of Europe commission said Tuesday.

According to a report published by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the fourth of its kind on the Netherlands, although there had been progress since its last report, there was still cause for concern.

"There is concern over the interpretation given to the provisions prohibiting racist insults and incitement to hatred, discrimination and violence, particularly when applied in the context of political discourse," Xinhua quoted the ECRI report as stating.

The cutting of funds for anti-discrimination authorities also worried the ECRI, it said.

The report noted that certain Dutch politicians and media portrayed "Islam and Muslims, as well as the arrival of Eastern Europeans, as a threat to Dutch society", while lamenting the inadequate "criminal-law response" to such statements.

It called on the Dutch authorities to recognise racist motivations as an aggravating circumstance in the criminal code, develop a national strategy against racism and racial discrimination, take steps to tackle the problem of exploitation of temporary workers who do not live in the Netherlands permanently.