Summary: 22 January 2008, Jerusalem- Vice President Franco Frattini, European Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security; Opening remarks for the second EC - Israel Seminar on the fight against racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism; Second Seminar on the fight against racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism
Dear Minister Herzog, dear friends,
It is a great honour to be here today, opening with you this second Seminar on the fight against racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.
The first Seminar, that took place in Brussels one year ago, was a success. At that seminar we learned more about how you fight against anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia. I do hope that it was useful for you to know more about what the Commission is doing to combat anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia.
At the Commission we were looking forward to this second Seminar, because we want to continue this fruitful dialogue and exchange of experience with you.
Your experience in combating anti-Semitism is unique and we are happy that you are ready to share it with us.
EU clear stance against racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism
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.
We have said loud and clear that there is no place for anti-Semitism in Europe, nor there should be anywhere in the world.
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 ".
The European Commission will continue to send out this unequivocal and clear message, for as many times as it is necessary.
We will do so because this is what the values that we uphold call for. And we will do so because the chances of success of our fight depend on public authorities providing crystal-clear and determined leadership. Public authorities must not leave any room for interpretation. Nobody should have the slightest impression that anti-Semitism, racism or xenophobia are or can become acceptable, anywhere.
As you know, the powers that we have to combat racism and anti-Semitism are not unlimited. The European Commission can take action only when the Treaties have given it powers to do so.
But when we have such powers, we do go as far as they allow us to. We exert them fully.
Legislative achievements
We have proposed and enforced legislation at EU level. In the next two days, you will discuss developments concerning the European anti-discrimination law and the "TV without frontiers" Directive.
Under my portfolio, I am committed to get the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia adopted as soon as possible. You know that the negotiations on this instrument have been particularly lengthy.
It is not that surprising that it has taken some time. This proposed legislation touches upon one of the key issues for all democratic societies: how can we protect victims of racist speech, without sacrificing freedom of expression?
Freedom of expression is a basic and non-negotiable feature of democracy. It is a conquest for which past generations fought hard, and the last thing we want is to undermine it.
However, protecting people from racist and xenophobic behaviour is not incompatible with the basic principles of democracy.
The European Convention on Human Rights allows for certain limits to freedom of expression when, in a democratic society, this is necessary to protect other rights recognised in the Convention.
Setting precise limits and codifying them into criminal law is difficult, and requires careful consideration. The different legal traditions of the Member States of the Union make particularly challenging the task of formulating criminal law applicable to all of them.
I am confident that the text is now ripe for formal adoption. Even if the result is less ambitious than what the Commission would have liked, it is still very good news for Europe.
Other achievements
The European Union has put in place initiatives to draw people's attention to their rights, as well as to increase mutual understanding. You will be hearing later about the outcome of "2007, European Year of equal opportunities for all" and the prospects for "2008, European year of Intercultural Dialogue".
Over the years, intercultural dialogue has become an important element of Community action. The European Union has for many years encouraged intercultural dialogue - inside and outside of its boundaries - through various programmes and initiatives. It appears necessary today to respond to the need for a deeper and more structured dialogue among cultures, involving not only public authorities, but also civil society.
The Commission also provides financial support to anti-racist activities in the EU. I would like to mention the equality programmes, where Directorate General for Employment invests 20 M€ per year in equality and non discrimination activities. Ad-hoc initiatives such as the 2007 European Year added 15 M€.
My services manage the new Fundamental Rights and Citizens Programme, which with a total amount of 93,8 M€ over the 2007-2013 period, includes the fight against anti-Semitism as one of its priorities.
Fighting against anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia requires having as precise as possible facts and figures about their extent, their recurrence and evolution. We need data. The Fundamental Rights Agency will be presenting the latest data they have on anti-Semitism.
Finally, we know that education is one of your main interests, and we are grateful to Yad Vashem for the excellent programme that they have prepared for this Seminar.
Education is an indispensable dimension in the fight against racism. We will not eradicate racist attitudes if we do not educate our children and youth in tolerance and respect.
The importance of remembrance and teaching of the Shoah is beyond question. I personally feel quite strongly that we have a duty towards the victims to remember what happened, and to make sure that the generations after us continue to remember.
The competence of the Commission in the area of education is particularly limited. But, even within these limits, we are ready to find ways to strengthen our cooperation, as is already happening between the Fundamental Rights Agency and Yad Vashem.
This Seminar and beyond
Israel and the Commission share the rejection of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia, and we are determined to pursue the fight against them with all of the means at our disposal. I wish all of you a fruitful and interesting discussion. Looking at the agenda for the seminar, I am sure this will be the case.
For the future, I would like to state our interest to continue to meet again in this informal framework, in about one year time. As I said, we find these discussions with you very useful, and I think that we can only benefit from continuing them.
Dear Minister, thank you again for your hospitality here in Israel.
The EU fight against racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism
The EU condemns and rejects all manifestations of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia. These are not compatible with the values that the EU is founded upon.
We have repeatedly said, and will continue to do so as much as necessary, that there is no place for anti-Semitism in the EU, nor anywhere in the world.
The EU is uncompromising in this respect: conflict in the Middle East conflict can never be a reason for anti-Semitism, old or new.
At home, the EU can act only within the limits of the powers conferred to it by the Treaties, but when we have powers, we do exert them fully. We have for instance proposed and enforced EU legislation, undertaken awareness raising initiatives and provided financing under a number of programmes.
Our main achievements are:
The Anti-discrimination Directives, the "TV without frontiers" Directive, and - hopefully very soon - the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia.
The Fundamental Rights Agency continues to collect data and work on education on anti-Semitism.
Awareness raising activities such as "2007, European Year of Equal Opportunities for all" and "2008, European Year of inter-cultural dialogue.
Financial programmes on equality, and the new Fundamental Rights and Citizenship programme.
We are happy to cooperate with Israel in these areas. We are convinced that both sides can learn a lot from each other's experiences and know-how
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