Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2020 is over. And while media attention and policy-making have focused very much on the COVID-19 pandemic, fighting antisemitism has been a top priority of the German Council Presidency and progress has also been achieved at European level.

The aim was to further intensify the cooperation at European level envisaged by the Federal Government and to put it on a permanent footing. Another aim was to put the focus on the need for a holistic, interconnected and cross-cutting approach to preventing and combating antisemitism.

Against this backdrop, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community and Federal Government Commissioner Klein hosted the high-level online conference "Working together to fightantisemitism in Europe: Structures and strategies for a holistic approach" on 10 September 2020, providing an opportunity for leading stakeholders in the fight against antisemitism, including representatives from EU member states and Katharina von Schnurbein, the EU Commission Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism, to exchange views on structures and strategies to be used in the fight against antisemitism.

Dr. Klein in the studio during the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (Larger version opens in new window) Source: BMI

One of the main objectives of the conference was to improve the networks between the various actors at EU level and give a new momentum to Europe-wide efforts to stop antisemitism. The talks focused on current issues such as antisemitic conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic, methodological issues such as collecting statistics on antisemitic incidents in order to develop preventive approaches, and strategies for combating antisemitism at national level.

The September conference also paved the way for the adoption of the "Council Declaration on mainstreaming the fight against antisemitism across policy areas" of 2 December 2020, which is another milestone in the fight against antisemitism.

In the declaration, the EU member states reaffirm their commitment to the Council Declaration of 6 December 2018 on the fight against antisemitism and the development of a common security approach to better protect Jewish communities and institutions in Europe. Secondly, they declare that the fight against antisemitism is to be mainstreamed across policy areas, since it is an issue that affects various levels of government and policy areas. This is to help build stronger networks at EU level. From now on, the fight against antisemitism must be taken into account in all actions and decisions.

 Furthermore, the Council called upon member states to give utmost priority to the security of Jewish communities, insisting that illegal antisemitic hate speech be removed promptly by internet service providers. 

Advancing the prevention of and the fight against antisemitism is a common task and responsibility, both nationally and at European level. Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the EU Commission, announced the Commission’s intention to submit a comprehensive strategy on fighting antisemitism in the course of 2021. Federal Government Commissioner Klein will continue to work to ensure that permanent structures are established, for example to systematically record antisemitic incidents that do not constitute punishable offences and to enable an interconnected exchange between the federal and state levels.