With this Working Group, the Commission aims to support the implementation of the EU Strategy and to assist Member States in their efforts to develop national strategies in line with their commitment in the Council Conclusions on combating Racism and Antisemitism adopted on 4 March 2022.

Special envoys on combating antisemitism and representatives of EU Member States, national Jewish communities, international Jewish umbrella organisations and international organisations such as OSCE/ODIHR and UNESCO took active part in the meeting.

In the first session, the discussion focused on the antisemitic narratives and disinformation used by Russia as justification for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. In a ‘tour de table’ opened by Belgian Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity, Sarah Schlitz, Member States and Jewish communities shared updates on the developments of their national strategies and actions in the fight against antisemitism and respectively the current challenges faced by Jewish communities today. Vice-President Nicola Beer, Special envoy on combatting religious discrimination, including Antisemitism, and Chair of the Working group against Antisemitism of the European Parliament, gave the concluding remarks of the first day.

The following day, Ambassador Jitka Látal Znamenáčková, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Czech Republic to the Political and Security Committee of the EU, in her keynote speech, highlighted the Czech Presidency’s commitment to fighting antisemitism. Participants further discussed during the second session the security needs of the Jewish communities and on what the EU and Member States can do to meet those needs as well as the need for a standardised methodology for recording antisemitic incidents in the last session.

• Speech by Vice-President Margaritis Schinas
• Background information
• Agenda