The fight against anti-Semitism

FR - DE - IT

In response to an initiative by the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, the joint working party of representatives from the Commission, the European Jewish Congress and the Congress of European Rabbis met officially for the first time on 13th July to discuss the fight against anti-Semitism. The Dutch Presidency of the European Union was also represented.

At the meeting the participants reaffirmed their desire to develop a coordinated long-term plan of action to combat anti-Semitism in all its guises throughout the European Union.

The working party examined possible projects concerning education, monitoring public opinion and specific anti-Semitic acts, and the dialogue between religions and with the communities that have most recently immigrated within the EU.

Anti-Semitism is an odious phenomenon that strikes at the whole of European society, and the participants again stressed that to combat it effectively there was a need for close and regular coordination of the judicial and police authorities both at European and at national level.

Everyone agreed that the EU Council of Ministers should approve as quickly as possible the European Commission's proposal for legislation on anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia.

The representatives of the European Jewish Congress and the Congress of European Rabbis repeated their request for a meeting with the Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs and the Ministers for Education on the subject of the fight against anti-Semitism at a forthcoming meeting of the Council of Ministers.

The working party decided to hold its next meeting in September to examine the progress made on the various initiatives.

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