At their Council meeting in Luxembourg on Friday 11 October, the European Union’s justice ministers discussed the implementation of the action plan against racism, adopted in 2020, to eradicate racism across a number of sectors, including education, employment, housing and health.
It also examined national and European strategies to combat racism and antisemitism.
According to our sources, a number of issues were raised during the discussions, which followed an evaluation report published by the European Commission on 25 September (see EUROPE 13490/16), including the difficulty of collecting reliable data.
In addition, various Member States have reported difficulties linked to structural racism. As a result, many victims are reluctant to turn to the police, which makes it difficult to assess the situation accurately.
Several ministers have therefore called for harmonised data collection to better measure and compare the extent of racism in the EU. The ministers also called for increased financial support, at both national and European level, to ensure the effective implementation of national strategies.
The Director of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, Sirpa Rautio, has presented worrying data on discrimination against black people (see EUROPE 13280/28) and the rise in antisemitic acts in Europe, published by the Agency in reports for October 2023 (see EUROPE 13280/28) and July 2024 (see EUROPE 13451/26) respectively.
Faced with this situation, the Member States reaffirmed their commitment to stepping up their efforts to protect fundamental rights and promote equality, while calling for adequate resources to be made available to support local organisations and initiatives on the ground.
The issue of the rise in antisemitism also featured prominently in the debates, particularly in the context of recent geopolitical events in the Middle East.
The European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, told a press conference that antisemitism runs counter to the fundamental values of the EU and stressed the need to give full support to Jewish communities. He pointed out that the Commission is preparing its first report on the strategy to combat antisemitism, which will be adopted in 2021. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)