The European Parliament adopted the resolution, 617 votes for, none against and 10 abstentions, on remembrance of the Holocaust, anti-semitism and racism. In particular, it pays homage to all the victims of the Nazis and is convinced that lasting peace in Europe must be based on remembrance of its history; rejects and condemns revisionist views and denial of the Holocaust as shameful and contrary to historical truth, and expresses concern over the rise of extremist and xenophobic parties and growing public acceptance of their views.

It calls on the institutions of the European Union, the Member States and all European democratic political parties to condemn all acts of intolerance and incitement to racial hatred, as well as all acts of harassment or racist violence; condemn in particular and without reservation all acts and expressions of anti-semitism of whatever kind; condemn in particular all acts of violence motivated by religious or racial hatred or intolerance, including attacks on religious places, sites and shrines belonging to Jewish, Muslim or other faiths, as well as against minorities such as the Roma.

The Council and the Commission, as well as the various levels of local, regional and national government in the Member States, are urged to coordinate their measures to combat anti-semitism and attacks on minority groups including Roma and third-country nationals in the Member States, in order to uphold the principles of tolerance and non-discrimination and to promote social, economic and political integration.

Parliament is of the opinion that these efforts should also include the promotion of dialogue and cooperation between the different segments of society at the local and national levels, including dialogue and cooperation between different cultural, ethnic and religious communities. It equally states its conviction that remembrance and education are vital components of the effort to make intolerance, discrimination and racism a thing of the past, and urges the Council, Commission and Member States to strengthen the fight against anti-semitism and racism through promoting awareness, especially among young people, of the history and lessons of the Holocaust by:

- encouraging Holocaust remembrance, including making 27 January European Holocaust Memorial Day across the whole of the EU;

- reinforcing Holocaust education through the use of all the Holocaust memorial institutions, especially the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and the Berlin Holocaust Information Centre (Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas ) as European resources, making Holocaust education and European citizenship standard elements in school curricula throughout the EU, and setting the current fight against racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism against the background of the Shoah (Holocaust);

- ensuring that school programmes in the 25 EU countries address the teaching of the Second World War with the utmost historical rigour and by taking advantage of Parliament's insertion in the 2005 budget of provision for schools throughout the EU to adopt war graves and monuments;

The declared intention of the Luxembourg Presidency to restart the stalled discussions on the proposal for a Council Framework Decision on combating Racism and Xenophobia is welcomed by the Parliament. It urges the Council to reach agreement on a ban on incitement to racial and religious hatred throughout the EU while preserving legitimate free speech.

Lastly, the Commission is invited to start a review of the application of the Racial Equality Directive 2000/43/EC aimed at strengthening European Union anti-discrimination measures and to organise a major conference involving all the actors concerned, in particular political representatives, public institutions at a national, regional and local level, and NGOs and associations active in this field.

T6-0018/2005
OJ C 253 13.10.2005, p. 0014-0037 E

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted the resolution, 617 votes for, none against and 10 abstentions, on remembrance of the Holocaust, anti-semitism and racism. In particular, it pays homage to all the victims of the Nazis and is convinced that lasting peace in Europe must be based on remembrance of its history; rejects and condemns revisionist views and denial of the Holocaust as shameful and contrary to historical truth, and expresses concern over the rise of extremist and xenophobic parties and growing public acceptance of their views.

It calls on the institutions of the European Union, the Member States and all European democratic political parties to condemn all acts of intolerance and incitement to racial hatred, as well as all acts of harassment or racist violence; condemn in particular and without reservation all acts and expressions of anti-semitism of whatever kind; condemn in particular all acts of violence motivated by religious or racial hatred or intolerance, including attacks on religious places, sites and shrines belonging to Jewish, Muslim or other faiths, as well as against minorities such as the Roma.

The Council and the Commission, as well as the various levels of local, regional and national government in the Member States, are urged to coordinate their measures to combat anti-semitism and attacks on minority groups including Roma and third-country nationals in the Member States, in order to uphold the principles of tolerance and non-discrimination and to promote social, economic and political integration.

Parliament is of the opinion that these efforts should also include the promotion of dialogue and cooperation between the different segments of society at the local and national levels, including dialogue and cooperation between different cultural, ethnic and religious communities. It equally states its conviction that remembrance and education are vital components of the effort to make intolerance, discrimination and racism a thing of the past, and urges the Council, Commission and Member States to strengthen the fight against anti-semitism and racism through promoting awareness, especially among young people, of the history and lessons of the Holocaust by:

- encouraging Holocaust remembrance, including making 27 January European Holocaust Memorial Day across the whole of the EU;

- reinforcing Holocaust education through the use of all the Holocaust memorial institutions, especially the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and the Berlin Holocaust Information Centre (Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas ) as European resources, making Holocaust education and European citizenship standard elements in school curricula throughout the EU, and setting the current fight against racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism against the background of the Shoah (Holocaust);

- ensuring that school programmes in the 25 EU countries address the teaching of the Second World War with the utmost historical rigour and by taking advantage of Parliament's insertion in the 2005 budget of provision for schools throughout the EU to adopt war graves and monuments;

The declared intention of the Luxembourg Presidency to restart the stalled discussions on the proposal for a Council Framework Decision on combating Racism and Xenophobia is welcomed by the Parliament. It urges the Council to reach agreement on a ban on incitement to racial and religious hatred throughout the EU while preserving legitimate free speech.

Lastly, the Commission is invited to start a review of the application of the Racial Equality Directive 2000/43/EC aimed at strengthening European Union anti-discrimination measures and to organise a major conference involving all the actors concerned, in particular political representatives, public institutions at a national, regional and local level, and NGOs and associations active in this field.

T6-0018/2005

B6-0069/2005

B6-0070/2005

B6-0073/2005

B6-0074/2005

B6-0076/2005

B6-0077/2005

RC-B6-0069/2005

Debate in Parliament

B6-0003/2005

B6-0004/2005