The European Commission has welcomed the unanimous approval of a EU Council declaration mainstreaming the fight against antisemitism across all policy areas.
Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Promoting our European Way of Life, issued the following statement:
“Europe stands firm against all forms of antisemitism. Jewish life is and always will be part of European societies and our way of life. The Member States’ commitment taken today once more reaffirms this fact. I welcome this declaration, which aims to raise awareness across all policy levels in order to prevent and fight antisemitism.
The Council’s Declaration, which is to be formally adopted by the 27 EU leaders at their summit meeting next week, recognises, with great concern, the rise in threats towards Jewish people – both online and offline.
It calls for much needed decisive actions. It reiterates that member states have a duty to ensure the security of Jewish communities and institutions. It also acknowledges the importance of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism as a guiding tool for better identifying and addressing this scourge.
‘’I call on member states to follow up on this commitment with concrete actions,’’ said Schinas.
‘’The Commission is determined to continue addressing antisemitism holistically. To this effect, we will present a comprehensive EU Strategy on combating against antisemitism in 2021, to complement and support Member States’ efforts,” he added.
So far, 18 EU member states have adopted the non-legally binding IHRA working definition of antisemitism, which the Commission has been using as basis of its work since 2017.
The Declaration adopted by the EU Council of Ministers invites member states that have not yet endorsed the working definition to do so ”as soon as possible.”