07 October 2021
Time to read: 15 mins
The European Commission has presented its EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. With antisemitism worryingly on the rise, in Europe and beyond, the Strategy sets out a series of measures articulated around three pillars:
The Strategy proposes measures to step up cooperation with online companies to curb antisemitism online, better protect public spaces and places of worship, set up a European research hub on contemporary antisemitism and create a network of sites where the Holocaust happened. These measures will be reinforced by the EU’s international efforts to lead the global fight against antisemitism.
“Today we commit to fostering Jewish life in Europe in all its diversity. We want to see Jewish life thriving again in the heart of our communities. This is how it should be,” President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said. “The Strategy we are presenting today is a step change in how we respond to antisemitism. Europe can only prosper when its Jewish communities feel safe and prosper.”
“Antisemitism is incompatible with EU values and with our European way of life,” Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas added. “This strategy – the first of its kind – is our commitment to combat it in all its forms and to ensure a future for Jewish life in Europe and beyond. We owe it to those who perished in the Holocaust, we owe it to the survivors and we owe it to future generations.”
Some of the key measures in the Strategy include:
The EU will use all available tools to call on partner countries to combat antisemitism in the EU neighborhood and beyond, including through cooperation with international organizations. It will ensure that EU external funds may not be misallocated to activities that incite hatred and violence, including against Jewish people. The EU will strengthen EU-Israel cooperation in the fight against antisemitism and promote the revitalization of Jewish heritage worldwide.
The Strategy will be implemented over the period 2021-2030. The Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to support the implementation of the Strategy and will publish comprehensive implementation reports in 2024 and 2029. Member States have already committed to preventing and fighting all forms of antisemitism through new national strategies or measures under existing national strategies and/or action plans on preventing racism, xenophobia, radicalization and violent extremism. National strategies should be adopted by the end of 2022 and will be assessed by the Commission by end of 2023.
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