29 November 2021 - Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, Commissioner for Promoting our European Way of Life, hosted the EuroChanukah celebration in the European Commission by lighting the third Chanukah candle. He talked about the importance of fostering Jewish life in the EU with European Jewish communities, Commission colleagues and citizens.
Combating antisemitism
2 December 2021 - Ursula von der Leyen celebrated the Chanukah by lighting the candle of the Chanukia in the heart of the European quarter in Brussels, Schuman square, marking the sixth day of the Jewish festival of lights.
Deadline: March 2022
Deadline: 24/03/2022
Deadline: 24/02/2022
9 November 2021 - Vice-President Schinas addressed the LIBE Committee of the European Parliament and presented the EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. He emphasized that Holocaust and antisemitism are stains on our history, and it was a long overdue duty to present a strategy on combating antisemitism.
80 years since the Baby Yar tragedy, Vice-President Margaritis Schinas paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust by laying a wrath at the monument dedicated to the memory of massacred Jews. He expressed his commitment not only to remember, but to act and spare no effort in fighting antisemitism and all forms of hate.
3 November 2021 - European Commission Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, met with members of the Presidium of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS) at the offices of the Organization and also visited the Jewish Museum of Greece.
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) Annual Overview of antisemitic incidents recorded in the European Union found that incidents of hatred against Jews have been evident throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. Even though in some countries the number of antisemitic incidents decreased, the main problem remains the same across Europe – most incidents still go unreported.
2 to 10 November 2021 - European Commission, as a Permanent International Partner, took active part in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) second biannual Plenary of 2021 under the Greek Presidency, hosted virtually in Thessaloniki.
10 November 2021 - Katharina von Schnurbein, presented the work of the European Commission to tackle discrimination and antisemitism in sports and refered to the newly adopted EU strategy on combating antisemiitsm and fostering Jewish life at the conference 'Global Conference on Football's Role in Combatting Antisemitism'.
9 November 2021 - On the 83rd commemoration anniversary of Kristallnacht, Austria unveiled the 'Shoah Wall of Names', a Holocaust memorial engraved with the names of some 64,440 Austrian Jewish children, women and men who perished during the Holocaust, located in the center of Vienna.
9 November 2021 - During a visit of the Jewish Community of Vienna, Katharina von Schnurbein met with Dr Danielle Spera, the Director of the museum, to discuss successful educational tools to reach out to young people, including migrants with messages about Jewish life, antisemitism and the Holocaust.
9 November 2021 – The Favoriten Women section of SPÖ in Vienna were presented with ways and best practices to combat antisemitism by Katharina von Schnurbein, based on the EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life as well as the work done so far by the European Commission in ensuring an EU free from antisemitism.
10 November 2021 - Katharina von Schnurbein, briefed the European Jewish Congress (EJC) Executive Members on the EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. She presented the important policy calls and recommendations included in the strategy and the support it brings in fostering a prosperous life for the Jewish communities in the EU.
10 November 2021 - Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, was awarded the Marietta and Friedrich Torberg Medal of the Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG Wien) for her 'extraordinary commitment against antisemitism and for Jewish life in Europe'.
Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, took active part in the Malmö International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism organised by the Swedish Government.
Katharina von Schnurbein co-chaired the meeting of the Special Envoys and Coordinators Combating Antisemitism (SECCA), organised by the World Jewish Congress and the European Commission, around the Malmö Forum. Participants discussed the role the special envoys and coordinators play in the fight against antisemitism globally and how to reinforce their cooperation as well as the pledges made in the Malmö Forum.
Vice-President Margaritis Schinas presented the key actions put forward by the European Commission in a session on countering and combating contemporary antisemitism in all its forms and manifestations, online and offline.
President von der Leyen welcomed the initiative of the Malmö Forum to jointly pledge concrete actions to fight antisemitism and to eradicate it.