JERUSALEM (EJP)---European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini declared that "there is no place for anti-Semitism in Europe, nor anywhere in the world."

"The European Union condemns and rejects any manifestation of racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. These phenomena are incompatible with the values that the Union is founded upon,” he said Tuesday in Jerusalem at the opening of a two-day seminar on the fight against racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

“Nothing justifies anti-Semitism. Any manifestation of anti-Semitism must be rejected, regardless of where and whom it comes from. I myself did so in the case of the remarks made by the President of Iran. No form of anti-Semitism, is acceptable, and "new" is not more tolerable than "old anti-Semitism,” he added.

Frattini, who is within the European Commission responsible for justice, freedom and security, added that the Mideast conflict "can never be a reason for anti-Semitism."

Organised by the European Commission together with the Israeli foreign ministry and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Institute, the seminar is the second meeting of experts from the European Commission and Israel to be held under the EU-Israel Action Plan in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy.

It brings together 30 education experts from across Europe for in depth discussions on how to combat racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. The first seminar took place in Brussels last year.

The powers that the EU has to combat racism and anti-Semitism “are not unlimited,” the Commissioner stressed in his speech.

He mentioned the fact that a proposed EU legislation on racism and xenophobia, to be adopted soon, touches upon one of the key issues for all democratic societies: "how can we protect victims of racist speech, without sacrificing freedom of expression?"

He said however that “protecting people from racist and xenophobic behaviour is not incompatible with the basic principles of democracy.”

Stressing the importance of education in the fight against racism, Frattini proposed that European schoolchildren and students pay visits to symbolic places of remembrance in Europe like the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin and former Nazi concentration camps like Auschwitz and Dachau.

"This should be facilitated and encouraged with European money," he added.