PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Antisemitism (22 October 2014)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of anti-semitism in Europe; what recent discussions he has had on anti-semitism with his European counterparts; and if he will make a statement.

Asked by:
Gareth Thomas (Labour)

The British Government is committed to combating anti-Semitism wherever it is found and supports the efforts of EU partners to tackle racism in all its forms.

The November 2013 report of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), indicated that two-thirds of people identifying themselves as Jewish across eight EU Member States considered anti-Semitism to be a problem in their country. As current Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the UK will be discussing this issue at the IHRA's Plenary Meetings in Manchester in December.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also works very closely with the UK Member of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), which provides expert advice on tackling anti-Semitism to other EU Member States.

The British Government will be represented at a senior level at the tenth anniversary of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Conference and Declaration on Anti-Semitism, being held in Berlin on 13 November.

Answered by:
Sir David Lidington (Conservative)
29 October 2014