The Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council Hosts a Conference on Combatting Anti-Semitism
15 May 2018 News
Georg Georgiev, Deputy Foreign Minister and national coordinator of the Government for combating anti-Semitism, hosted a round table to discuss good practices in tackling anti-Semitism and addressing its intrinsic challenges. The event is on the agenda of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council and was jointly organised by the Presidency and the European Jewish Congress. The initiative is held shortly before the first anniversary of the European Parliament Resolution of 1 June 2017 on combatting anti-Semitism.
The main objective of the round table is to support the EU Member States to exchange knowledge about the best practices and together develop strategies for a more adequate application of the Resolution recommendations.
Addressing the participants in the event, Deputy Minister Georgiev pointed out that strengthening the EU commitment to combat all forms of intolerance, xenophobia and hate speech is at the top of the agenda of the Bulgarian Presidency. “We think that the active participation in the discussions of the Jewish organisations and communities is a useful practical step to achieving this goal. We also believe that Bulgaria advancing its status in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance along with our ambition to join as full members in the near future give added value to the efforts of the Presidency,” the Bulgarian Deputy Minister said.
The round table participants – representatives of the EU institutions, national governments and leading Jewish organisations – had discussions on two main topics held in two panels.
Several Member States and candidate countries, which have appointed national coordinators for combatting anti-Semitism and have adopted the working definition from the Resolution, discussed with the participants matters related to the dialogue between the national coordinators and the Jewish organisations. The main goals of the panel discussion were to identify ways to enhance cooperation to more effectively combat anti-Semitism.
In the second panel, the national coordinators presented their ongoing work and shared best practices; their presentations serving as a basis for the follow-up exchange of ideas related to the strategies for tackling the present challenges.
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