The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to give EU financial assistance to the family of Robert McCartney to fund a civil action if the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) fails to bring his killers to justice.
The resolution, which was tabled jointly by the parliament's largest political groups, condemned IRA violence and criminality and called on Sinn Féin to insist that those responsible for Mr McCartney's murder should co-operate directly with the PSNI.
Five hundred and fifty-five MEPs voted in favour of the resolution, four against and 48, including Mary Lou McDonald and Bairbre de Brún of Sinn Féin abstained.
The president of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, said he was confident that the European Commission and the Council of Ministers would agree to make funds earmarked for victims of terrorism available to the McCartney family if a civil action becomes necessary.
"I hope that our decision today will help to break the wall of silence around Robert's murder. I pledge to continue to support their struggle in any way I can," Mr Borrell said.
Yesterday's vote, which was unprecedented in the history of the European Parliament, was significant for Europe as a whole.
"There is a code of silence related to terrorism in other parts of Europe. I think it's important for people to speak out, and the McCartney sisters have the support of the citizens of Europe," he said.
Paula McCartney described yesterday's vote as "remarkable" and thanked the MEPs from all over the EU who backed the family's campaign.
"It was incredible to believe that representatives of people across all of Europe so strongly support our campaign for justice," she said.
Catherine McCartney said that Sinn Féin's failure to back yesterday's resolution was further evidence that the party's expressions of support for the family were not genuine. "To me it is testimony to the fact that they are not doing what they can to help the family," she said.
The MEPs' request for funding for the McCartney family must now be considered by the commission, which has never before given money from the anti-terrorist fund to help an individual civil action.
The commission has condemned Mr McCartney's murder and expressed support for his family's campaign but has repeatedly stressed that it cannot interfere with police investigations within a member state. A decision to fund any civil action taken by the McCartney family would need the support of the EU member states in the Council of Ministers.
Mr Borrell said yesterday that he would raise the matter shortly with the commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso and with Luxembourg's prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, whose country holds the EU presidency.
