JOINT COMMUNICATION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL No place for hate: a Europe united against hatred
Date: 2023-12-06
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU action, democracy, fight against crime, fundamental rights, gender equality, hate speech, protection of freedoms, racial discrimination, rule of law, xenophobia

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION HIGH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNION FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND SECURITY POLICY Brussels, 6.12.2023  JOIN(2023) 51 final  JOINT COMMUNICATION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL No place for hate: a Europe united against hatred   
 
 
The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, 
equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons 
belonging to minorities.  
These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-
discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail. 

Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union 

1. 

STEPPING UP ACTION AGAINST HATRED 

The values set out in the EU treaties are neither theoretical nor optional: they are the essential 
conditions upon which our democratic and pluralist societies are founded. They must apply to 
everyone in the EU. Every individual, every community, every faith deserves equal  respect. 
The cohesion of our society is undermined when pressure mounts against particular groups.  

Recent weeks have seen scenes in Europe which we hoped would never occur again. Violent 
criminal  attacks  on  the  Jewish  community  have  acted  as  a  shocking  reminder  that  we  can 
never  be  complacent  about  the  resurgence  of  hatred.  It  is  unacceptable  to  see  Jewish 
communities feeling insecure and people fearful of going  about  their daily  lives, of sending 
their children to school, of life on university campuses, or of going to work. It is unacceptable 
that security concerns have been partially responsible for a decline in the Jewish population in 
the EU in recent years, with scores of people preferring to migrate outside the EU. Europe’s 
Jewish  communities  are  an  intrinsic  part  of  our  history,  our  culture  and  our  society,  and 
antisemitism  is  incompatible  with  all  the  European  Union  stands  for.  The  situation  today  is 
incompatible with human rights, with our values and with our European way of life.  

The same is true for all forms of hatred. We see a rise in anti-Muslim hatred, with Muslims 
facing intimidation, harassment and discrimination. All the different aspects that make Europe 
such  a  uniquely  diverse  society  demand  respect1.  This  is  part  and  parcel  of  our  diversity  as 
Europeans. 

There  is  clear  evidence  that  recent  weeks  have  seen  a  more  general  surge  in  hatred.  Hatred 
leads to more hatred: it is a destructive force not just for particular communities, but for us all. 
Hate is a risk for our society and democracy. We cannot accept that people are prevented from 
playing their full part due to how they look, what they believe, whom they love or where they 
come from. European history shows that standing by and watching in silence leaves a space 
for hate to grow. Language that belittles fuels a sense of impunity against attacks on specific 
communities  or  individuals.  Disinformation  and  foreign  information  manipulation  and 
interference  is  used  by  those  wishing  to  undermine  our  democracies  to  stoke  conflict.  It 
exploits  other  social  tensions  such  as  social  exclusion  and  poverty  to  single  out  groups  for 
stigmatisation.  Freedom  of  expression  is  a  fundamental  right  and  a  cherished  value,  but 
human  rights  law  acknowledges  that  it  must  not  be  exploited  to  incite  hatred  and  violence. 
And there should be no impunity for those who cross the line.  

1  

On  6  November  2023,  Special  and  Coordinators on  Combating  Antisemitism  issued  a  joint  statement  on 
combating  antisemitism  hatred.  On  29  November  2023,  the  Coordinators,  Special  Representatives  and 
Ambassadors dealing with anti-Muslim hatred and racism issued an international statement on combating 
all forms of hatred and in particular anti-Muslim hatred. 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Our history and our shared values come with the responsibility to protect and stand united in 
solidarity with Jewish communities in Europe – and to combat hatred, scapegoating,  and 
the  denigration  of  any  person  due  to  their  racial  and  ethnic  origin,  their  faith,  their 
gender or their sexuality. The violence and hatred seen in recent weeks – both in direct acts 
and in incitement – is unacceptable and requires a strong and determined response. 

This  Communication is a call  for  action, for all Europeans, to ensure that Europe is  a 
place where our founding values are enjoyed by everyone, on an equal basis. Indifference 
or  ignorance  is  not  only  a  threat  to  the  people  facing  discrimination,  but  to  an  open  and 
diverse  society,  to  democracy  and  the  European  way  of  life.  Inaction  is  not  an  option.  We 
must stand up and stand together. 

*** 

Hatred  can  manifest  itself  in  many  forms:  bullying,  harassment,  verbal  abuse  or  insults, 
disinformation,  threats  or  calls  for  violence,  all  the  way  to  violence  proper.  Its  prevalence 
across the social and political spectrum calls for a comprehensive response.  

Over  recent  years,  the  Commission  has  worked  with  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council  to  develop  a  set  of  legal  instruments  and  policy  initiatives  to  promote  and 
protect the EU common values and fundamental rights set out in our Treaties and in the 
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. 

The  core  EU  framework  for  a  strong  common  response  to  racist  and  xenophobic  hate 
speech  and  hate  crime  is  the  2008  Framework  Decision  on  combatting  racism  and 
xenophobia2. This sets a criminal law framework to ensure that serious manifestations of 
racism  and  xenophobia  are  punishable  by  effective,  proportionate  and  dissuasive 
criminal  sanctions  across  the  EU.  In  particular,  it  requires  Member  States  to  criminalise 
hate speech – the public incitement to violence or hatred, on grounds of race, colour, religion, 
descent  or  national  or  ethnic  origin3  –  and  to  duly  take  into  account  racist  motives  when 
sentencing perpetrators of criminal acts. National authorities must investigate, prosecute, and 
try cases of alleged hate-motivated crime or speech, including  public condoning,  denial and 
gross trivialisation of the Holocaust. 

Important  efforts  have  been  made  to  ensure  that  the  Framework  Decision  is  fully  and 
correctly  transposed,  in  particular  through  the  launch  of  infringement  proceedings  against 
thirteen  Member  States  since  October  2020.  This  has  led  to  action  by  ten  Member  States. 
More action is needed by the other Member States for the effective implementation of these 
rules in full force. 

In December 2021, the Commission proposed to extend the current list of ‘EU crimes’ set 
out  in  the  Treaties  to  hate  speech  and  hate  crime4  to  address  the  current  divergent  and 
fragmented  criminal  approaches  of  Member  States  and  to  ensure  consistent  protection  of 
victims across the EU. This requires a unanimous Council Decision, with the consent of the 
European Parliament, which would then allow the Commission to make a legislative proposal 
to strengthen the existing legal framework on tackling hate speech and hate crime across the 
EU. Recent events underline the imperative for rapid adoption of this Council Decision, to 

2   Council  Framework  Decision  2008/913/JHA  of  28 November 2008  on  combatting  certain  forms  and 

expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law, OJ L 328, 6.12.2008, p. 55–58.  

3   Article 1 of the Framework Decision. 
4  

‘A more inclusive and protective Europe: extending the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime’, 
COM(2021)  777  final,  9.12.2021.  This  initiative  is  one  of  the  deliverables  announced  in  2020  in  the 
European Democracy Action Plan. 

2 

 
 
 
protect our common EU values, which are undermined by all forms of hate speech and hate 
crime, regardless of the persons and groups targeted. 

2.  PROTECTING PEOPLE AND PLACES 

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his 
background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to 
hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human 
heart than its opposite.” 

Nelson Mandela –President of South Africa (1994-1999) 

The 2020-2025 Security Union strategy5 underlined the need for security for everyone in 
the EU, in line with EU values and principles.  
Europe  today  is  experiencing  an  alarming  increase  in  hate  speech  and  hate  crime6.  This 
includes both physical7 and online8 attacks and comes on top of existing racial discrimination. 
Evidence suggests that hate speech and hostility is affecting Jewish and Muslim communities 
in  particular9.  Security  concerns,  as  well  as  a  perceived  lack  of  determination to  address 
antisemitism,  have  played  an  important  part10  in  earlier  action  taken,  which  must  now  be 
stepped up.  

-  Protecting against physical threats 

Law  enforcement  has  a  particular  responsibility  to  spearhead  action  against  the  risks 
that  hate  speech  and  hate  crime  pose  to  personal  security.  The  High-Level  Group  on 
combating hate speech and hate crime11 helps Member States to develop training and capacity 
building for law enforcement, improve hate crime recording and data collection, as well as to 
encourage victims to report hate crime. It is working with EU agencies to improve hate crime 

EU Security Strategy, COM(2020) 605 final, 24.07.2020 

5  
6   Data produced by the EU funded project  ‘European Observatory on Online Hate’ shows that out of eight 
million  online  messages  analysed  in  the  EU,  the  level  of  hateful  toxicity  since  the  start  of  2023  has 
increased by 30%. The levels are higher in French, Russian, Slovak and Spanish languages. https://eooh.eu/   
7   Whilst public authorities are yet to compile statistics, numerous examples have been cited by civil society 
or  the  media.  Civil  society  organisations  in  Germany  marked  sudden  rises  in  both  antisemitic  (source: 
RIAS) and anti-Muslim (source: CLAIM) incidents. Press reports recorded major increases in antisemitic 
attacks in France (source: Le Monde), Austria (source: euractiv) and the Netherlands (source: jta.org).  
8   One study recorded an over 50-fold increase in the absolute volume of antisemitic comments on YouTube 
videos  about  the  Israel/Palestine  conflict  in  the  course  of  October.  The  overall  proportion  of  antisemitic 
messages  more  than  doubled  during  the  same  period  (source:  isdglobal.org,  31  October  2023).  Similar 
research  conducted  on  the  platform  X  shows  that  the  number  of  posts  containing  anti-Muslim  keywords 
spiked during the weekend of Hamas’ terrorist attacks, with an increase of more than four times from the 
previous two days (source: isdglobal.org, 2 November 2023). 
‘Being Black it the EU’, a report published by the Fundamental Rights Agency in October 2023, highlights 
that one third of respondents have experienced racist harassment in the 5 years before the survey and 4 % 
of respondents experienced racist violence. 

9  

10   EU  strategy  on  Combating  Antisemitism  and  Fostering  Jewish  Life  (2021-2030)  COM(2021)  615  final, 

5.10.2021. 

11   https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-

discrimination/racism-and-xenophobia/combating-hatesccscsc-speech-and-hate-crime_en 

3 

 
 
 
training for the police and support to hate crime victims12. In all cases, it is critical to involve 
the communities at risk in the development and delivery of security strategies13. 

Ongoing actions include:  

•  The EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training CEPOL is planning targeted events and 
e-trainings  focusing  more  specifically  on  antisemitism,  anti-Muslim  hatred  and  more 
broadly  anti-racism  safeguards.  A  meeting  with  law  enforcement  agencies  from  the 
Member  States  in  Budapest  in  April  2024  will  focus  on  improving  coordination  and 
effective implementation of hate crime legislation.  

•  Europol will also step up support for law enforcement to use cyber investigation tools to 

identify offenders operating online and networks involved in hate crime.  

•  The  European  judicial  training  strategy  for  2021-202414  includes  dedicated  work  on 
training on the application of the Charter of Fundamental  Rights  of the EU, including 
training in the context of EU action against hatred.  

•  Training  material  on  anti-discrimination,  including  antisemitism  is  available  on  the 
European Training Platform of the E-justice Portal. This will be built upon for the next 
phase of European judicial training. 

These measures are  to be backed up with  a  network of national  law enforcement contact 
points  specialised  in  criminal  investigations  of  hate  speech  and  hate  crime,  to  enhance 
coordination with EU level activities such as under the High-Level Group on combating hate 
speech and hate crime, cross-border support to investigations, and exchange of good practices 
and tools15. 

The  2020-2025  EU  Strategy  on  victims’  rights16  highlighted  the  need  to  ensure  specialist  
support and protection for victims of hate crime. It stressed that hate crime disproportionately 
affects certain communities such as Jews or Muslims. The Strategy provides for actions that 
encourage crime reporting17, better investigation of bias motivations and strengthened support 
to victims of racist and xenophobic crimes. This work is backed up by EU funding for victims 
of hate crime and awareness raising initiatives under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values 
(CERV) and the Justice  programmes.  In July  2023, the Commission  adopted  a proposal  for 
the  revision  of  the  Victims’  Rights  Directive18.  A  quick  adoption  of  this  revision  would 
strengthen the protection of vulnerable victims such as victims of hate crime and provide for 
better  identification  of  the  specific  needs  of  victims  of  hate  crime  and  in  a  more 
comprehensive application of specialist support and protection measures.  

12   Notably FRA and CEPOL, as well as the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of 

the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). 

13   Since 2021 the Commission has co-organised, with OSCE/ODIHR and the World Jewish Congress, seven 
events  between  national  law  enforcements  authorities  and  Jewish  communities  to  strengthen  their 
cooperation on security. The next event is planned for 11 December 2023 in Italy. 
‘Ensuring justice in the EU — a European judicial training strategy for 2021-2024’, COM(2020) 713 final, 
2.12.2020. 

14  

15   This proposal is being pursued by the Spanish Presidency in the Council. 
16   EU Strategy on victims’ rights (2020 - 2025), COM/2020/258 final, 24.6.2020. 
17   Underreporting precipitates a continuation of victimisation, results in impunity for offenders and leads to a 
lower level of security of the  entire groups affected by hate crimes.  A FRA study on antisemitism found 
that  79  %  of  Jewish  people  who  experienced  antisemitic  harassment  did  not  report  the  most  serious 
incidents. FRA survey ‘Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism - Second survey on discrimination and 
hate crime against Jews in the EU’, 2018. 

18   Proposal  for  a  Directive  amending  Directive  2012/29/EU  establishing  minimum  standards  on  the  rights, 

support and protection of victims of crime, COM/2023/424 final.  

4 

 
 
 
A series of violent attacks across Europe have shown that places of worship and community 
centres need protection. Although it is national authorities that are responsible for protecting 
citizens,  most  Jewish  communities  and  civil  society  organisations  have  had  to  invest 
significant funding in their own security measures. This is why the EU strategy on combating 
antisemitism19  has  prioritised  support  to  Member  States  and  Jewish  communities  in 
strengthening the protection of places of worship as part of efforts for the protection of public 
spaces. The EU has identified the protection of public spaces as a priority and has mobilised 
funding  from  the  Internal  Security  Fund  as  part  of  its  2020  Counter-Terrorism  Agenda20. 
Within the public spaces to be protected, specific attention was given to places of worship.  

Since 2020, the PROTECT programme has been supporting a range of transnational and inter-
religious projects  conducting  vulnerability assessment in places of worship  and providing 
training  to  faith  leaders  and  their  communities21.  This  experience  fed  into  new  funding  in 
2022 to  extend the programme and  protect  places of  worship  and communities of all faiths, 
with  projects  focusing  on  protecting  Jewish  places  of  worship,  education  and  community 
gathering,  working  with  organisations  including  the  Security  and  Crisis  Center  of  the 
European Jewish Congress22. The funding is now being further increased with the upcoming 
call on protection of public spaces, where places of worship such as synagogues and mosques, 
religious schools and community gatherings will be one of the key priorities. In view of the 
urgency, this call for proposals will be brought forward from its initial 2024 planning to 2023, 
including  dedicated  funding  to  tackle  antisemitism23.  In  addition,  the  Commission  supports 
Member States to adapt their national response, including with additional funding through the 
Internal Security Fund to address the immediate priorities24. 
Dedicated EU Protective Security Advisor25 missions are deployed on demand, drawing on a 
pool  of expertise to  support Member States with  vulnerability assessments: these have been 
used to map both the vulnerabilities existing in places of worship and other public spaces, as 
well as critical infrastructure26. In 2021, the Commission published a Quick Guide to Support 
the  Protection  of  Places  of  Worship27,  which  has  been  used  at  train-the-trainer  events  in 
Poland and Sweden on the protection of places of worship dedicated to the Jewish faith. This 
was backed up in 2022 with a Security by Design Handbook28, which serves as an inspiration 
for  authorities  to  incorporate  security  aspects  in  the  design  of  future  and  the  renovation  of 

19  

20  

‘EU strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life  (2021-2030)’, COM(2021) 615 final, 
on 5.10.2021. 
‘A Counter-Terrorism Agenda for the EU:  Anticipate, Prevent,  Protect, Respond’, COM(2020) 795 final, 
9.12.2020. 

21   The  2020  PROTECT  call  amounted  to  EUR  14.5  million  for  projects  on  the  protection  of  places  of 
worship, out of a total of  22.7 million. In the call of 2022, projects on the protection of places of worship 
received  EUR 8.3 million out of the total budget of EUR 17.8 million. Under these calls, eleven  projects 
on the protection of places of worship were selected Six have Jewish partners and one is fully focused on 
enhancing  the  protection  of  Jewish  communities,  EUCARE.    Five  of  the  projects  have  Muslim  partners 
within their consortia. 

22   This project, which was completed this year and whose funding amounted to EUR 2.5 million, enabled to 

equip 1000 places of worships in Europe with emergency tablets. 

23   The new PROTECT call will be launched by the end of 2023; the total budget will amount to 30 million 

and include an increase of 5 million to address the threats arising from the rise in antisemitism. 
 Additional funding of EUR 3 million is foreseen. 

24  
25      EU Protective Security Advisors (PSA) is an initiative under the Counter-terrorism Agenda. 
26   The Commission’s practical guide on the protection of places of worship has been backed up with meetings 

focused on protecting Jewish sites in Poland in 2021 and in Sweden in 2022. 

27       EU quick guide to support the protection of places of worship (europa.eu)  
28       https://counterterrorism.ec.europa.eu/book.php 

5 

 
 
 
existing  public  spaces.  The  anti-Muslim  hatred  database  developed  by  the  Fundamental 
Rights Agency should be used to further address this form of hatred29. 

The Commission will: 

- 

Strengthen  the  PROTECT  programme  under  the  Internal  Security  Fund,  with 
increased  funding  and  adding  a  priority  on  the  protection  of  notably  Jewish  places  of 
worship, religious schools and community gatherings;  

-  Accelerate the forthcoming call for proposals.  

The Commission urges: 

-  The Council to decide to extend the current list of ‘EU crimes’ set out in the Treaties to 

hate speech and hate crime; 

-  The  European  Parliament  and  Council  to  swiftly  adopt  the  revised  Victims’  Rights 

Directive. 

The Commission calls on/will cooperate with: 

-  CEPOL  to  organise  dedicated  events  and  e-trainings  focusing  more  specifically  on 

antiracism, antisemitism,  and anti-Muslim hatred safeguards;  

-   Europol  to  step  up  support  for  law  enforcement  to  use  cyber  investigation  tools  to 

identify networks involved in hate speech and hate crime.  

-  

 Protecting against threats online 

The online environment has developed into a core vector for our democracies but also gives 
space  for  illegal  content,  for  hate  speech,  and  for  insidious  attempts  to  spread  and  foment 
hatred  and  violent  extremism30.  Concern  about  antisemitism  in  particular  and  hate  speech 
more generally has been a major driving force to step up action.  

The EU has developed a range of laws and initiatives to tackle the different threats involved 
in the digital sphere. The Digital Services Act31 (DSA) has the safety of users at its heart. 
It includes new obligations for online platforms to counter illegal content. Those platforms 
designated as very large online platforms or search engines have the obligation to assess and 
mitigate systemic risks  inherent  to  the dissemination of illegal  content, and negative impact 
on  fundamental  rights,  democratic  processes,  civic  discourse  and  electoral  processes, 
including  the  risks  of  disinformation  as  well  public  security.  For  the  very  large  online 
platforms  and  very  large  online  search  engines,  the  Commission  has  direct  supervision  and 
enforcement  powers32.  The  DSA  allows  the  Commission  to  challenge  platforms  to  provide 
data to demonstrate that they are living up to their own commitments. The Commission was 
swiftly in contact with the most relevant tech companies underlining the risks triggered by the 
current  conflict  and  sending  formal  requests  for  information  on  the  risk  assessments  and 

29   The  database  provides  findings  of  national  human  rights  bodies  related  to  anti-Muslim  hatred  incidents, 
such  as  violence,  property  offences,  incitement  to  violence  or  hatred,  other  forms  of  hate  speech, 
discrimination, harassment - https://fra.europa.eu/en/databases/anti-muslim-hatred/  

30   See report from the FRA Online content moderation - ‘Current challenges in detecting hate’ 
31   Proposal for a Regulation on a Single Market For Digital Services (‘Digital Services Act’) and amending 

Directive 2000/31/EC, COM(2020) 825 final, 15.12.2020.  

32   The  Commission  has  recently  adopted  a  Recommendation  on  coordinating  responses  to  incidents  in 
particular arising from the dissemination of illegal content. This encourages Member States to respond in a 
coordinated and consistent manner to incidents. 

6 

 
 
 
mitigating measures required. A new incident response mechanism was first activated by the 
Irish authorities following violent incidents in Dublin on 23 November 202333. 

One of the measures to mitigate the risk of illegal content under the DSA is to join recognised 
codes  of  conduct.  Codes  of  conduct  are  key  parts  of  the  DSA  enforcement  framework  to 
mitigate  the  risk  of  specific  types  of  illegal  content.  Since  2016,  the  Commission  has  been 
working with major platforms under the Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech 
online.    One  of  the  key  commitments  made  by  participating  platforms  under  the  Code  of 
Conduct  is  to  assess  illegal  hate  speech  notified  to  them  in  a  majority  of  cases  within  24 
hours, and to swiftly remove illegal content. The negotiations on a new Code of conduct on 
countering  illegal  hate  speech  online,  under  way  since  March  2023,  are  being  swiftly 
finalised and the new code will become a formal code of conduct under the DSA34. A main 
objective of the revision of the Code is to improve its preventive capability and turn it into a 
tool that can help anticipate a rising threat of hate speech before content has gone viral. 

The  DSA  specifically  recognises  the  role  of  trusted  flaggers  to  identify  and  flag  hate 
speech online and to allow action against it. A wide network of trusted flaggers is already 
active under the Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech online, and it has been one 
of its most striking successes. In the current context, the role of trusted flaggers in identifying 
illegal  antisemitic  and  anti-Muslim  hate  speech  online  is  particularly  important.  The 
Commission will reinforce funding to support the network of trusted flaggers35. This will 
include a dedicated strand to establish and support a network of trusted flaggers on antisemitic 
hate speech, as foreseen in the EU strategy on combating antisemitism. A hackathon will be 
organised  to  develop  new  innovative  ways  to  address  antisemitism  in  the  online  and  digital 
environment.  Under  the  DSA,  notices  submitted  by  trusted  flaggers  will  have  to  be  treated 
with priority and decided upon without undue delay by providers of online platforms.  

An  effective  and  evidence-based  response  to  online  hate  speech  relies  on  understanding  its 
origins  and  how  it  is  spread.  The  Commission  will  take  forward  funding  for  studies  on 
‘ecosystems’  of  hatred  online  under  the  Citizens,  Equality,  Rights  and  Values  (CERV) 
programme by prioritising the fight against hate speech and hate crimes. As stated in the EU 
strategy on combating antisemitism, the Commission will also conduct a comprehensive data 
analysis to better understand the spread of antisemitism online, how it travels and expands. 

Terrorist  content,  which  is  closely  related  to  the  most  serious  forms  of  hate  speech,  is 
one of the most obviously dangerous forms of content found online. The Terrorist Content 
Online Regulation36 provides a powerful legislative framework for Member States to ensure 
that terrorist content is removed from the web within one hour. Providers for online platforms 
are  required  to  act  as  soon  as  they  receive  removal  order  from  national  authorities37.  The 
Commission and Europol will step up support to Member States and hosting service providers 
of  online  platforms  to  overcome  practical  obstacles  and  to  ensure  a  strong  and  smooth 
application of the Regulation. For that purpose, a workshop took place on 24 November 2023 

33   By the Coimisiún na Meán (www.cnam.ie) 
34   This  requires  the  full  governance  of  the  DSA  to  be  in  place  with  the  Board  For  Digital  Services  to  be 
established  by  February  2024,  made  up  of  Digital  Services  Coordinators  in  the  Member  States  and  the 
Commission. 

35   Additional EUR 2.5 million in 2024. 
36   Regulation  (EU)  2021/784  addressing  the  dissemination  of  the  content  terrorist  online,  OJ  L172,  17.5. 

2021, p. 79-106. 

37    Based  on  the  information  available  to  the  Commission,  at  least  100  removal  orders  of  terrorist  content 

online related to the situation in the Middle East have been issued since early October 2023. 

7 

 
 
 
gathering national competent authorities and hosting service providers, and three projects are 
now being implemented to help small hosting service providers comply with the rules38. 

The  EU  Internet  Forum  is  a  Commission-led  and  voluntary  initiative  to  work  jointly 
with the tech industry and other relevant stakeholders to  counter hate, extremism and 
terrorist  content  online39.  It  provides  guidance  to  Member  States  and  tech  companies  to 
address the challenges posed by malicious and illegal content online, including content that is 
harmful but still protected by the right of freedom of expression and that therefore cannot be 
addressed  with  removals.  For  example,  in  2023,  the  Forum  published  a  handbook  on 
‘borderline  content’  to  guide  tech  companies  to  identify  such  content.  In  respect  of  hateful 
content this could  include speech that is  inflammatory, divisive and feeds stereotypes  about 
groups or minorities potentially leading to radicalisation, but does not reach the bar of inciting 
to racist and xenophobic violence or hatred which Member States needs to criminalise under 
EU  law.  The  handbook  contains  a  set  of  categories  including  legal  but  harmful  antisemitic 
content, borderline content related to the Covid-19 crisis, the anti LGBTIQ Bratislava attack 
and  anti-LGBTIQ  content  in  general.  A  chapter  on  anti-Muslim  borderline  content  will  be 
added  in  the  revised  version  in  2024  in  cooperation  with  the  Commission’s  Coordinator 
combatting  Anti-Muslim  hatred.  The  Forum  will  advise  on  how  to  navigate  borderline 
content, and  continue  to  raise  awareness  about  this  content that  might  lead  to  radicalisation 
and to support tech companies in their content moderation efforts. 

In  addition,  the  EU  Internet  Forum  developed  an  EU  Crisis  Protocol  (in  2019  revised  in 
2023) following the terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Protocol is a voluntary 
mechanism to  help  coordinate a rapid, collective and cross-border  response to the viral 
spread  of  terrorist  and  violent  extremist  content  online  in  response  to  real  world 
incidents.  The  EU  Internet  Forum  and  Europol’s  EU  Internet  Referral  Unit  will  organise  a 
tabletop  exercise  in  early  2024  to  test  the  implementation  of  this  Crisis  Protocol  alongside 
relevant obligations and operational procedures under the Terrorist Content Online Regulation 
and  take  into  account  the  impact  of  the  situation  in  the  Middle  East  on  the  online 
environment. 

The EU has been working in recent years to help Member States to counter radicalisation, a 
breeding ground for terrorism40 but also for hate speech and hate crime. The Radicalisation 
Awareness  Network  (RAN)41  brings  together  expertise  and  experience  on  prevention  and 
countering  of  violent  extremism.  The  RAN  is  currently  researching  how  the  online 
information ecosystem in Europe is responding to the recent developments in the Middle East. 
The results will be discussed with Member States in December 2023 to support their strategic 
communication efforts and work to counter hateful narratives online. 

Online platforms’ algorithmic systems have been found to be misused  to amplify the spread 
of  illegal  speech,  violent  extremist  and  terrorist  content.  In  the  EU,  the  DSA  specifically 
requires  very  large  online  platforms  to  assess  the  impact  of  algorithmic  amplification  on 
their systems and take measures to mitigate  possible risks of negative effects on democratic 
processes,  civic  discourse  and  electoral  processes,  as  well  as  public  security.  As  online 
content  dissemination  does  not  stop  at  physical  borders,  it  is  key  to  raise  awareness  with 
partners  and    stakeholders  beyond  the  EU.  Work  is  ongoing  building  on  the  Christchurch 

38   ALLIES, FRISCO and TATE. 
39   European Union Internet Forum (EUIF).  
40  

‘A Counter-Terrorism Agenda for the EU: Anticipate, Prevent,  Protect, Respond’, COM (2020)795 final, 
9.12.2020. 

41   Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) . 

8 

 
 
 
Call’s workstream on algorithmic amplification and the Commission is organising a meeting 
with the Christchurch Call on 7 December 202342.  

Finally, particular attention to the risk of hate speech for children is given in the 2022 update 
of  the  European  strategy  for  a  better  internet  for  children43  and  in  the  enforcement  of  the 
DSA.  To  tackle  misogynous  hate  online,  the  proposal  for  a  Directive  on  violence  against 
women criminalises the cyber incitement to violence and hatred based on sex or gender and 
facilitates the removal of such content44.   

The Commission will: 

-  Finalise with the online platforms a reinforced Code of Conduct on countering illegal 

hate speech online before February 2024; 

-  Extend  networks  of  trusted  flaggers  on  social  media  working  on  all  grounds  of 
incitement  to  violence  and  hatred,  to  support  and  anticipate  enforcement  of  the  DSA, 
including a dedicated network of trusted flaggers specialised on antisemitism; 

-  Step-up  with  the  EU  Internet  Forum  to  detect  illegal  hate  speech  and  to  help  address 
borderline  content,  including  by  identifying  antisemitic  and  anti-Muslim  hatred 
content,  as  well  as  supporting  incident  response  by  law  enforcement  and  tech 
companies;  

-  Work with Member States and hosting service providers to overcome practical obstacles 

to the application of the Regulation on Terrorist Content Online;  

-  Reinforce strategic communication efforts with the Radicalisation Awareness Network. 
-  Reinforce  cooperation  with  the  Christchurch  Call’s  workstream  on  algorithmic 

amplification with a meeting on 7 December. 

3.  ENGAGING SOCIETY AS A WHOLE 

“Indifference is more guilty than violence itself. It is the moral apathy of those 
who turn away from others: it also happens today with racism and other horrors 
of the world”. 

Liliana Segre, Italian Senator for life, Holocaust survivor 

-  Standing together through education, culture, media and sport 

Knowledge  and  awareness  are  key  to  mutual  respect  and  tolerance,  and  lack  of 
awareness is one of the underlying conditions allowing the growth of hatred. Ignorance 
offers  a  vacuum  which  can  be  exploited  by  disinformation,  extremism  and  foreign 
information  manipulation.  Understanding  of  the  different  communities  and  traditions 
increases resilience against those who seek to present diversity and difference as a danger to 
our social fabric.  

42     The Christchurch Call is a community of over 130 governments, online service providers, and civil society 

43  

organisations acting together to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. 
‘A Digital Decade for children and youth: the new European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+)’, 
COM(2012) 196 final, 11.5.2022. 

44   Proposal for a Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, COM (2022) 105 

final, 8.3.2022. 

9 

 
 
 
 
The Commission has launched an EU-wide survey on antisemitic prejudices in the general 
population of all Member States, including among young people. The Commission will also 
create a European research hub on contemporary antisemitism and Jewish life and culture, in 
cooperation  with  Member  States.  Horizon  Europe  also  supports  research  projects  to  deepen 
understanding of hatred, its causes, consequences and how to address it, while the Technical 
Support  Instrument  offers  Member  States  the  opportunity  of  help  in  the  design  and 
implementation of strategies to combat hatred.  

General public awareness campaigns at EU or national level, such as the awareness-raising 
campaign  about  Jewish  life  foreseen  in  the  EU  strategy  on  combating  antisemitism  or  the 
2023 “Eyes Open”45 campaign to raise awareness about victims’ rights including victims of 
hate crime, can stimulate interest and debunk false claims.   

The  most  powerful  vectors  for  building  awareness  and  knowledge  are  those  integrated  in 
everyday life – such as the media, education and training, culture and sport. Such work must 
always be carried out in close cooperation with the different communities themselves, which 
in turn calls for a deeper intercultural and interfaith dialogue. Opinion leaders in these areas 
have a responsibility to society as a whole, and to its cohesion. There are powerful examples 
in sport, notably football, where some national federations and clubs are already calling out 
antisemitic  and  racist  behaviours  and  incidents.  Major  sporting  events  in  Europe  can  be 
opportunities  to  raise  awareness  against  hatred  and  to  promote  European  values  and  these 
should  be  used.  More  influential  figures  from  the  worlds  of  culture,  media  and  sport 
should stand up for diversity. Key moments of public attention such as the Olympic Games, 
international championships or high-profile cultural events should be used to the full. 

The  media  have  an  important  role  to  play  in  bringing  reliable  information  to  citizens.  
Under the European Democracy Action Plan, the EU’s efforts to protect media freedom and 
counter disinformation are two sides of the same coin. Actions strengthening the positioning 
of  professional  journalism,  as  well  as  training  for  journalists  on  upholding  and  developing 
media  standards,  includes  recognising  all  forms  of  antisemitism,  anti-Muslim  hatred  and 
broader  racism,  as  well  as  on  uncovering  biases  and  negative  stereotypes  in  reporting,  and 
will  be  taken  forward  under  media  programmes.  Actions  strengthening  the  basic  digital 
competences  of  citizens,  in  particular  media  and  digital  literacy,  are  key  to  ensure  public 
awareness  and  critical  thinking,  supporting  citizens  to  recognise  and  avoid  spreading 
disinformation, and advance a trustworthy digital environment where pluralistic public debate 
can thrive. 

Education  must  contribute  to  raising  pupils’,  students’  and  teachers’  awareness  and 
their readiness to react against prejudices, extremist narratives, conspiracy theories, negative 
stereotypes  and  ideologies  that  drive  discrimination  and  hatred.  Each  Member  State  is 
responsible for its curricula, but this is an area where mutual learning and experience can be 
very valuable. The European Education Area46 and the Digital Education Action Plan47 bring 
forward  a  number  of  initiatives  that  can  help  combat  hatred  in  and  through  education  and 
training.  The  Commission  will  take  forward  the  new  Council  conclusions48  on  the 
contribution  of  education  and  training  to  strengthening  common  European  values  and 

45   Keep your eyes open to the different forms of violence. | Victims Rights (europa.eu)  
46  
47  

“Achieving the European Education Area by 2025”, COM (2020) 625 final, 30.09.2020 
“Digital  education  Action  Plan  2021  –  2027:  Resetting  education  and  training  for  the  digital  age”, 
COM(2020) 624 final. 

48   Council  conclusions  on  the    contribution  on  the  contribution  of  education  and  training  to  strengthening 

common European values and democratic citizenship, 23 November 2023. 

10 

 
 
 
democratic  citizenship49,  giving  a  specific  focus  in  early  2024  to  the  theme  ‘No  Place  for 
Hate’. Support for mutual learning and good practice exchange should have a particular focus 
on anti-hatred educational resources and pedagogical approaches, targeted to cover different 
levels and types of education. Also important is to address face-to-face hatred in schools by 
combatting bullying and violence in schools50. 
The Erasmus+51 and European Solidarity Corps programmes52 offer funding opportunities 
in  the  area  of  education  and  training,  culture,  youth  and  sport,  including  to  address  these 
topics.  “Inclusion  and  diversity”  is  a  priority  and  both  programmes  support  many  projects 
promoting inclusion, diversity, intercultural dialogue, fighting against intolerance and racism, 
including antisemitism53 and anti-Muslim hatred. This priority will continue to be boosted, in 
particular  via  additional  efforts  by  implementing  bodies  in  Member  States  to  encourage 
applications of anti-hatred projects. 

In  2022  the  Commission  published  a  set  of  Guidelines  for  teachers  and  educators  on 
tackling disinformation and promoting digital literacy through education and training54. 
The Guidelines help teachers to empower children and youth facing online challenges such as 
hate speech. During the review of the Digital Education Action Plan in 2024, the Commission 
will  look  at  the  uptake  of  the  Guidelines  and  explore  how  to  build  on  this  work  across  the 
education and training community55.   

In 2023, the Commission launched a project to address antisemitism through education, in 
cooperation  with  UNESCO  and  OSCE,  with  in-person  trainings  in  12  Member  States.  This 
project will be extended in 2024-25 to cover all  Member States  and train EU educators and 
policy makers on addressing contemporary antisemitism in the classroom. 

Participation  in  common  community  activities  can  be  a  powerful  way  to  build  new  social 
bonds and deepen understanding56. The Commission supports the role that sport plays in the 
promotion of a tolerant and inclusive society and in addressing violence and racism in society. 
Cooperation  with  the  Council  of  Europe  on  the  joint  project  ‘Combating  Hate  Speech  in 
Sport’  can  be  built  on  to  develop  innovative  approaches  to  address  hate  speech  in  sport, 
including  the  online  dimension.  Erasmus+  can  also  help  to  promote  inclusion,  equality  and 
non-discrimination  through  sport.  The  current  Arrangement  for  Cooperation  between  the 

49  

In  2023,  the  European  Education  Area  strategic  framework  Working  Group  on  Equality  and  Values  in 
education  and  training  published  two  issue  papers  on  tackling  different  forms  of  discrimination  in  and 
through education and on citizenship education. 

50   See Council Recommendation on Pathways to School Success. 
51     Regulation 2021/817, OJ L 189, 28.5.2021, p. 1–33. 
52   Regulation 2018/1475 laying down the legal framework of the European Solidarity Corps, 02.10.2018. 
53   As example, through its Erasmus + Programme, the  Commission funded the project ‘Football History for 
Inclusion’, coordinated by the European Association of History Educators partnering among others with the 
Anne  Frank  Foundation,  the  football  museum  of  the  Eintracht  Frankfurt  and  the  Romanian  football 
federation. The objective was to help educators who witness instances of exclusion and who wish to help 
their pupils engage in meaningful conversations about inclusion and develop social and civic competences 
through the use of football history. 
 Guidelines  for  teachers  and  educators  on  tackling  disinformation  and  promoting  digital  literacy  through 
education and training - https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/a224c235-4843-11ed-92ed-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en.  

54  

55   Combatting hatred through quality requirements of digital education content should be a theme of follow 
up  to  the  recently  adopted  Council  Recommendation  on  key  enabling  factors  for  digital  education,  23 
November 2023. 

56   This was one of the lessons learnt from the EU preparatory action “Culture for Health” (2021-2023) 

11 

 
 
 
Commission and the Union of European Football Associations57 provides a frame to promote 
equality,  diversity  and  inclusion,  fighting  all  forms  of  discrimination,  underlining  how 
football can help in the fight against racism and antisemitism in Europe58. 

Arts  and  culture  also  have  a  crucial  role  in  building  tolerance  and  in  maintaining 
dialogue  in  democratic,  diverse  and  open  societies.  The  Commission’s  2023  report 
“Culture and Democracy – the evidence”59 illustrates how art and culture strengthen citizens’ 
tolerance, empathy for people from different backgrounds, solidarity, and social cohesion, and 
can help reduce hate crime. It includes evidence from an Italian 2022 study60 showing how a 
1% increase in cultural consumption related to a 20% reduction in hate crime events. 

The Creative Europe programme breaks down barriers and combats stereotypes in European 
society  and  will  put  in  place  an  action  to  support  an  award  for  an  outstanding  Jewish 
cultural heritage project to promote and expand understanding of Jewish cultural heritage.  

Art and culture can also play an important role in citizenship education. The EU Work Plan for 
Culture  2023-202661  seeks  to  develop  cross-sectoral  synergies  between  schools,  cultural 
organisations,  civil society and other  actors, to harness  the transformative  potential  of  culture  for 
enhancing democracy62. The Commission is currently collecting concrete examples and knowledge 
on how to build effective civic-oriented synergies between schools and cultural agents. The results 
will  be  shared  with  stakeholders  and  Member  States  to  support  their  efforts  to  enhance  pupils’ 
citizenship education, their awareness  and their readiness to  react  against prejudice,  extremist 
narratives, conspiracy theories, and ideologies that drive discrimination and hatred63. 

One  of  the  ways  to  increase  awareness  is  to  leverage  commemorative  days  which  can  be 
further  disseminated  on  media,  in  schools  and  universities,  by  political  organisations  and 
others to reflect on the importance of combatting hatred. Efforts should be stepped up to use 
existing moments of commemoration to more powerful effect, such as International Holocaust 
Remembrance  Day  (27  January),  the  Roma  Holocaust  Memorial  Day  (2  August),  the 
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March), the International 
Day  for  Countering  Hate  Speech  (18  June),  or  the  International  Day  against  Homophobia, 
Biphobia,  Interphobia  and  Transphobia  (17  May).  The  more  and  higher  profile  the 
engagement,  and  the  broader  the  involvement  of  different  communities,  the  more  powerful 
the message sent by such events. The European Parliament and the Council could promote a 
wider resonance for such commemorations.  

As  part  of  the  EU  strategy  on  combating  antisemitism,  the  Commission  will  promote 
Holocaust  remembrance  in  schools,  universities  and  vocational  and  education  training 

57    Arrangement  for  Cooperation  between  the  European  Commission  and  the  Union  of  European  Football 

Associations (UEFA) - C(2022) 3721 final. 

58   An  example  is  the  ‘Football  for  UNITY  2.0  project’,  funded  under  the  EU’s  Asylum  and  Migration 
Integration  Fund,  which  will  be  implemented  by  the  UEFA  Foundation  for  Childrens.  The  project  will 
leverage  on  the  popularity  of  football  and  use  the  platform  of  the  EURO  2024  in  order  to  fight 
discrimination and promote the social inclusion of refugees. 

59   Culture  and  Democracy  –  the  evidence.  How  citizens’  participation  in  cultural  activities  enhances  civic 

engagement, democracy and social cohesion. Lessons from international research. 

60   Denti,  D.,  Crociata,  A.,  &  Faggian,  A.  (2022).  Knocking  on  Hell’s  door:  dismantling  hate  with  cultural 

consumption, in Journal of Cultural Economics, 1-47.  

61  Council Resolution on the EU Work Plan for Culture 2023–2026, OJ C 466, 7.12.2022, p. 1–18. 
62 

The  multi-annual Work Plans for Culture  guide EU level policy cooperation between the Member States 
and the European Commission in the field of culture.  

63   This  process  is  outlined  in  the  2024  Annual  Work  Programme  for  the  implementation  of  the  Creative 
Europe programme: https://culture.ec.europa.eu/resources/creative-europe-annual-work-programmes. 

12 

 
 
 
institutions.  It  is  also  creating  a  network  of  sites  “where  the  Holocaust  happened”,  in 
cooperation with local communities. 

The Commission will: 

-  Support  action  to  organise  training  for  journalists  on  upholding  media  standards 

including recognising hate speech and uncovering biases in reporting;  

-  Focus  under  Erasmus+  and  the  European  Solidarity  Corps  2024  on  promoting 

inclusion and diversity and combatting discrimination and hatred;  

-  Take  forward  a  “Culture  and  Democracy  Study  and  Peer-Learning”  project  to  help 
schools  and  cultural  actors  to  promote  pupils’  citizenship  education  for  tolerance, 
diversity and democracy; 

-  Expand the project with UNESCO and OSCE to address antisemitism through education 

to all Member States; 

-  Support research projects tackling hate crime and hate speech through the EU framework 

programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe64; 

-  Take  forward  the  joint  project  with  Council  of  Europe  “Combating  Hate  Speech  in 

Sport”;  

-  Create  a  new  award  under  Creative  Europe  focused  on  preserving  Jewish  cultural 

heritage; 

-  Step up work on the awareness actions under the strategy on antisemitism, including 
the network of Young European Ambassadors, the network of Holocaust-related sites, and 
building a new research hub as well as increase funding65. 

-  Protecting  democracy from hatred  

Manifestations  of  hatred  are  not  just  a  targeted  threat  to  individuals  and  communities,  they 
undermine  society  as  a  whole  and 
the  foundations  of  our  democracies. 
threaten 
Disinformation,  including  foreign  information  manipulation  and  interference  (FIMI), 
often seeks to amplify polarisation and hatred. Moments of social and geopolitical tension 
can  be  abused  to  increase  the  spread  of  disinformation,  and  this  has  been  evident  in  recent 
weeks,  with  the  involvement  of  foreign  actors.  This  is  designed  to  crowd  out  a  balanced 
narrative,  to  polarise  and  radicalise,  trying  to  undermine  the  efforts  of  the  many  people  in 
Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as in the population at large, who want to show their 
commitment to peace, respect and coexistence. 

Protecting Europe’s democracies from the threats and harmful effects of disinformation 
and  information  manipulation  and  interference,  in  particular  stemming  from  foreign 
actors,  has  become  a  strategic  priority  for  the  EU.  Under  the  umbrella  of  the  European 
Democracy  Action  Plan  (EDAP)66,  the  Commission  and  the  High  Representative  have 
developed a series of measures to tackle disinformation.  

A series of initiatives have also been put in place to increase the accountability of providers 
for  online  platforms67.  In  particular,  an  important  element  of  the  DSA  is  the  obligation  on 

64   Horizon Europe will fund as of 2024 research projects on combating hate speech online and offline. 
65   The Commission has increased to EUR 12 million the funding  available in 2024 under the Remembrance 
strand  of  the  CERV  including  for  projects  to  commemorate  the  Holocaust,  counter  Holocaust  distortion, 
also through the digitalisations of archives and testimonies of Holocaust survivors. 

66      COM(2020) 790. A review of the actions under EDAP is forthcoming.  
67   Other  key  initiatives  include  the  recently  agreed  proposal  on  transparency  of  political  advertising, 
introducing  clear  rules  on  transparency  and  targeting  of  political  advertising,  and  the  proposal  under  the 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
very large online platforms to assess and mitigate the risks of disinformation. This comes 
on top of the long-standing strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation, an agile tool 
committing  its  signatories,  including  all  major  online  platforms,  to  quickly  react  to  risks  in 
cooperation with civil society, including grassroots initiatives, and the authorities68.  

Fast  reaction  has  been  helped  by  situational  awareness  and  strategic  communication 
response  to  disinformation,  making  use  of 
the  Commission’s  Network  against 
Disinformation  and  the  Rapid  Alert  System  managed  by  the  European  External  Action 
Service, which connect focal points from Member States and EU institutions, as well as in the 
context  of  elections  with  the  European  Cooperation  Network  on  Elections.  This  consists  of 
active  debunking  and  targeted  campaigns  (stepped  up  to  address  foreign  information 
manipulation  and  interference,  including  disinformation  over  both  COVID-19  and  Russia’s 
illegal aggression against Ukraine), as well as a comprehensive and constant targeted reaction 
to  specific  incidents.  Intensified  support  to  fact-checkers  also  has  a  major  impact  on 
disinformation.  The  Commission  and  the  High  Representative  will  intensify  the  action 
against  disinformation  and  will  support  independent  fact-checkers,  who  play  a  major 
role  in  responding  to  disinformation.  This  will  include  support  to  grassroots  digital 
volunteers, by making available or developing further open-source tools – including AI tools 
– to enable them to fight hate speech and disinformation more effectively. 

The  Commission  will  stimulate  awareness  and  compliance  through  stepping  up  contacts 
with  signatories  of  the  Code  of  Practice  and  the  European  Digital  Media  Observatory 
(EDMO) network increase the capacity of their fact-checkers. Rapid content moderation 
is  critical  to  an  effective  response.  Contacts  will  be  used  to  remind  key  stakeholders  about 
existing rules and to obtain reinforced buy-in on fighting disinformation. The intention is to 
use EDMO as an independent intermediary that can organise the work between the platforms 
and trusted flaggers and other experts. This will help the swift and effective moderation and 
takedown  of  flagged  disinformation  content  (as  well  as  sometimes  identifying  potentially 
illegal content).  

The EU can draw on a set of measures already in place, including the toolbox on Foreign 
Information  Manipulation  and  Interference.  Targeted  public  diplomacy  programmes 
with young opinion leaders/youth ambassadors in the Middle East and North Africa will 
be used to step up outreach. An existing project to promote an Arab Fact Checkers Network 
will  be  extended  to  further  develop  fact-checking  platforms  and  the  software  that  helps 
platforms detect foreign interference and hate speech. 

The Commission  is  preparing a set  of initiatives on the ‘Defence of  Democracy’ to  support 
common  EU  standards  in  addressing  specific  threats  and  encouraging  inclusive  civic 
engagement  and  citizen  participation  in  our  democracies,  building  on  the  European 
Democracy  Action  Plan. A  legislative  proposal  would  introduce  common  transparency  and 
accountability standards in the internal market for interest representation activities seeking to 
influence the decision-making process in the EU and carried out on behalf of third countries. 
The  proposals  will  also  contain  recommendations  on  inclusive  and  resilient  elections  with 
measures  to  avoid  misleading  or  hateful  content,  as  well  as  to  encourage  a  respectful 
democratic environment through civic engagement and citizen participation.  

European Media Freedom Act which, once adopted, would guarantee more effective editorial freedom and 
independence of media service providers. 

68   The upcoming Regulation on Political advertising will provide common transparency standards allowing to 
distinguish political advertising from other content and identify messages that seek to shape their political 
views and decisions. It will also limit abusive use of personal data to disseminate political advertising. 

14 

 
 
 
Independent  journalism  is  key  for  citizens  to  make  informed  decisions,  and  to  push  back 
against  disinformation  and  hate  speech.  Yet  independent  journalism  is  facing  mounting 
pressure  globally.69  The  EU  remains  deeply  committed  to  protecting  independent,  quality 
journalism across the world, both with robust and concrete support to independent media. A 
number  of  EU  programmes  are  in  place  globally  to  support  independent  media,  provide 
capacity  building,  strengthen  the  protection  of  journalists  and  offer  them  professional 
development  opportunities.  Dedicated programmes  are in  place  within  the EU and globally, 
with  a total  amount of support  beyond  EUR  180 million over the last 5 years.  The EU  also 
specifically protects  independent  journalists at  risk70 and protects local  inclusive democratic 
space in the digital age.71 

The Commission will: 

-  Step  up  support  to  fact  checkers,  including  through  exploring  how  AI  can  support  the 

work to identify disinformation, with the risk of inciting hatred;  

-  Adopt a new ‘Defence of Democracy’ set of proposals, including proposing harmonised 
transparency and accountability standards for interest  representation activities seeking to 
influence  the  decision-making  process  in  the  EU  and  carried  out  on  behalf  of  third 
countries. 

The EU will: 

-   Extend the project on an Arab Fact Checkers Network to further develop fact-checking 
platforms  and  the  software  that  helps  platforms  to  detect  foreign  interference  and  hate 
speech; 
Support  targeted  public  diplomacy  programmes  with  young  opinion  leaders/youth 
ambassadors in the Middle East and North Africa to step up outreach against all forms of 
hatred, including on antisemitism, and to address information sourced outside the EU.  

- 

4.  UNITED IN DIVERSITY AGAINST HATRED 

“If we want to achieve our goal, then let us empower ourselves with the weapon of 
knowledge, and let us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness.”  

Malala Yousafzai – Nobel laureate 

Equality  and  non-discrimination  are  core  values  of  any  democracy.  They  are  the 
foundation for ensuring that all people, whoever they are, can live together without fear. The 
EU  is  committed  to  building  a  society  in  which  everyone  enjoys  an  equal  opportunity  to 
flourish, is free to express their individuality, speak their mind, worship freely and love who 
they want. Fostering such a society is a powerful way to protect against hatred.  

In  2019,  a  survey  conducted  by  the  EU  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights  (FRA)  underlined 
concern that discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression 
and sex characteristics was increasing in the EU. One in  ten LGBTI respondents (11%) had 
been physically or sexually attacked in the five years before 2020 because they were LGBTI. 

69        According  to  the  2023  Freedom  in  the  World  Report  (by  Freedom  House),  media  freedom  is  one  of  the 
indicators  that  has  declined  the  most  over  the  past  17  years.  Today,  as  many  as  85%  of  people  live  in 
countries where media freedom has worsened in the past five years (source: UN). 

70       Through the ProtectDefenders.eu mechanism, among other measures. 
71      Including through partnership with Denmark on the Digital Democracy Initiative. 

15 

 
 
 
Trans (17%) and intersex (22%) respondents experienced attacks at higher rates72.  Violence 
against  women  and  domestic  violence  are  particularly  widespread  across  the EU.   Data 
shows  that  one  in  three  women  experienced  violence  against  women73  and  one  in  five 
experienced domestic violence in the EU74. As for Roma, a positive development in tackling 
hate-motivated  harassment  and  violence  was  noted  in  2021  compared  previous  findings  of 
2016, but no real improvements has been recorded when it comes to tackling discrimination75. 

This  is  why  the  Commission  has  put  equality  and  non-discrimination  at  the  heart  of  its 
agenda.  The  Union  of  Equality  strategies76  adopted  in  2020  and  2021  set  out  a 
comprehensive  approach  to  create  the  conditions  for  everyone  to  live,  thrive  and  lead  in 
society  regardless  of  differences  based  on  sex,  gender,  racial  or  ethnic  origin,  religion  or 
belief,  disability,  age  or  sexual  orientation.  To  do  so,  the  strategies  put  emphasis  on 
countering  stereotypes,  combating  structural  racism  and  discrimination  where  it  exists  and 
redressing the lack of substantive equality in our societies through positive action.  

A key element in these strategies is engaging Member States and civil society with a view 
to  translating  the  EU-level  objectives  to  the  national  level,  including  through  national 
strategies  and  action  plans  in  line  with  the  commitments  made.  The  High  Level  Group  on 
Non-Discrimination, Equality and Diversity provides an important forum to exchange good 
practices  and  seeks  to  improve  the  development  and  implementation  of  policies  and 
programmes that combat discrimination and promote equality. The EU Platform of Diversity 
Charters  also  helps  organisations  looking  to  voluntarily  commits  to  promote  diversity  and 
equal opportunities in the workplace through the European Diversity Charters. 

Mobilising EU funds and making sure that they reach those who need them most is also key 
to  promote  equality  and  combat  discrimination.  For  this  it  is  essential  that  beneficiaries  of 
EU funds respect EU values.  

The horizontal enabling condition on the Charter of  Fundamental Rights of the EU requires 
Member  States  put  in  place  effective  mechanisms  to  ensure  that  the  programmes  and  their 
implementation comply with the Charter77. This is a precondition for related expenditure to be 
reimbursed. 

The Commission’s Early Detection and Exclusion System already provides the possibility 
to  exclude  entities  linked to  terrorist financing  or offences linked to  terrorist  activities from 
receiving  EU  financial  support78.  Financial  support  to  beneficiaries  may  be  suspended, 
reduced or recovered in the event of serious breach of contractual obligations and appropriate 
measures  may  be  taken  in  case  of  grave  professional  misconduct,  including  in  cases  of 
violation  of  EU  values.  Most  importantly,  to  strengthen  the  principle  that  EU  funded 

72  

FRA  (2020)  survey  ‘A  long  way  to  go  for  LGBTI  equality:  A  long  way  to  go  for  LGBTI  equality’  | 
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (europa.eu) 
FRA survey: ‘Violence against women: an EU wide survey’, 5.03.2014 

73  
74   This figure is based on administrative data and only includes acts reported to the authorities. EIGE, Gender 

Statistics Database,  https://eige.europa.eu/gender-statistics/dgs., 2019. 
75  
FRA (2021) survey ‘Roma in 10 European countries, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. 
76   Union of Equality strategies: ‘Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’, COM(2020) 152 final, 5.3.2020; ‘EU 
Roma  strategic  framework  for  equality,  inclusion  and  participation  2020-2030’,  COM(2020)  620  final, 
7.10.2020; ‘Union of Equality: LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025’, COM(2020) 698 final, 12.11.2020; 
‘A Union of equality: EU anti-racism action plan 2020-2025’, COM(2020) 565 final, 18.9.2020; Strategy 
for  the  Rights  of  Persons  with  Disabilities  2021-2030,  COM(2021)  101  final,  3.3.2021.  These  were 
complemented by the ‘EU strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life (2021-2030)’ on 
5.10.2021 COM(2021) 615 final. 

77   Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 - Common Provisions Regulation. 
78   Article 135 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 - Financial Regulation. 

16 

 
 
 
programmes  must  respect  equality  principles  and  comply  with  EU  law,  the  Commission 
proposed to add “incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence” as a new explicit ground of 
exclusion, as part of the revision of the Financial Regulation. Respect for EU values already 
features  as  part  of  the  Grant  agreement  every  beneficiary  of  EU  funding  must  sign  and  the 
Commission has worked on guidelines to set out more clearly the consequences breaches of 
EU  values  have  for  beneficiaries.  The  Commission  is  also  rolling  out  pilot  projects  on 
reinforcing  checks  and  verification  procedures  for  budgetary  programmes  in  relevant 
spending areas that entail higher risk of abuse and disrespect of EU values.   

Equally  important  is  to  make  sure  that  untransparent  foreign  funding  is  not  used  to 
undermine EU values. The EU will continue to combat covert and malicious foreign financing 
of cultural, civil and religious organisations. Transparency and accountability is the best way 
to guard against the potential of foreign funding to, intentionally or not,  promote views and 
encourage behaviour contrary to our democratic principles, fundamental and human rights79. 
In addition, the EU maintains a strong framework for anti-money laundering and countering 
the financing of terrorism. 

The Commission will: 

-  Take forward monitoring and reporting on implementation of the equality strategies. In 
2024  this  will  include  reports  on  the  implementation  of  the  EU  anti-racism  action  plan,  
the  EU  strategy  on  combating  antisemitism  and  fostering  Jewish  life  and  the  LGBTIQ 
equality strategy 2020-2025;  

-  Disseminate  a  revised  Annotated  Grant  Agreement  to  better  set  out  the  consequences 

for beneficiaries of not respecting EU values; 

The Commission calls on the European Parliament and the Council:  

-    To  swiftly  conclude  negotiations  on  the  Financial  Regulation  to  further  strengthen  the 

protection of EU value and the financial interests of the Union more broadly. 

The Commission calls on Member States:  

-  To live up to the commitments made in the Council Conclusion on combating racism and 
antisemitism80, in particular to develop national action plans and/or strategies and to use 
the non-legally binding working definitions of antisemitism and of Holocaust denial and 
distortion adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. 

5.  WORKING TOGETHER WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS 

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”. 

Helen Keller – American author and disability rights advocate 

It is through the engagement of all Member States, all communities, and the widest range of 
civil  society  that  the  different  initiatives  at  EU  level  reach  their  full  potential.  This  is 
particularly true for the long-standing EU commitment to equality, with specific initiatives to 
promote equal rights and to facilitate the participation of the marginalised in all aspects of our 
society. 

79   Proposal for Financial Regulation recast COM/2022/223 
80     Council Conclusions on combating racism and antisemitism, 2.3.2022. 

17 

 
 
 
The Commission’s approach of galvanising EU support through Coordinators on combatting 
antisemitism  and  fostering  Jewish  life,  on  combatting  anti-Muslim  hatred  and  the  recently 
created  coordinator  on  anti-racism,  has  played  an  important  part  in  reinforcing  stakeholder 
engagement. This will now be stepped up with an explicit mandate for each. The mandate 
will define their designation as Envoys as well as their role, in areas to include  specific EU 
funded  projects,  and  to  maximise  the  potential  of  EU  policies  to  combat  hatred,  online  and 
directly81. The mandates will also include annual  reports on trends, good practices and policy 
achievements. Fostering a close relationship with a wide range of organisations will be a key 
part  of  the  role,  including  grassroots  organisations  helping  to  promote  respect  and 
understanding  and  support  society-wide  mobilisation  in  promoting  and  safeguarding  EU 
values and fundamental principles.  

The EU agencies, and particularly the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) provide key input 
for  action  at  EU  level.  Data  collection  and  analysis,  including  reliable  and  comparable 
equality data82, are indispensable for a deeper awareness  and a sharper understanding of the 
current  threats.  Another  key  role  is  its  support  and  monitoring  of  national  action  plans  on 
antisemitism, anti-racism, Roma equality, inclusion and participation and LGBTIQ equality. 
The  Commission  will  explore  how  to  maximise  the  potential  of  FRA  to  contribute  to  EU 
efforts to  help  in  the  fight  against hatred, including to  establish a  common methodology  on 
recording antisemitic incidents. 

Faith associations can also act as powerful actors for and between communities. The Article 
17  dialogue  between  the  EU  institutions  and  churches,  religious  associations,  and 
philosophical  and  non-confessional  organisations  provides  a  well-established  forum  to 
bring  together  different  faiths.  In  light  of  growing  concerns  about  religious  intolerance,  the 
work  of  the  Article  17  dialogue  is  even  more  important,  as  a  setting  to  explore  ways  to 
enhance tolerance and promote respect for religious and non-confessional communities may 
be warranted. 

Finally, promoting awareness of the importance of diversity and combatting hatred is also a 
goal of EU external action. Programmes in partner countries promoting equality, inclusion 
and respect for diversity supported by the EU and implemented by civil society in key partner 
countries include the Global Europe - Human Rights and Democracy Thematic Programme83. 

Combating  hatred  is  a  global  concern  and  international  cooperation  is  a  necessity. 
Whilst our primary responsibility is to combat hatred and protect human rights inside the EU, 
there is both a responsibility and an interest in reinforcing EU external action in this area. All 
the  Union  Equality  strategies  and  the  EU  Strategy  on  combating  antisemitism  include 
dedicated actions to work on a global level against hate and discrimination. The EU is one of 
the most active global players at multilateral level, such as at the UN and Council of Europe, 
in  promoting  Freedom  of  Religion  and  Belief84,  with  a  dedicated  Special  Envoy  for  the 
promotion  of  freedom  of  religion  or  belief  outside  the  EU.  It  also  works  through  dialogues 
and actions in partners countries in cooperation with partner governments, local stakeholders, 

81   This  work  will  also  engage  the  Commission  Coordinator  for  the  dialogue  between  the  European 
Commission  and  churches,  religious  associations  or  communities  as  well  as  philosophical  and  non-
confessional organisations set out in Article 17 of the TFEU. 

82   To this end, the Commission cooperates with FRA in coordinating the work of the Subgroup on equality 

83  

84   

data under the High-Level Group on Non-discrimination, Equality and Diversity. 
Joint Communication on “EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024”, JOIN (2020) 5 
final, 25.3.2020. A new call for proposal aiming to promote freedom of religion of beliefs is now open for 
applications - Calls for Proposals and Tenders (europa.eu). 
 See also the Rabat Action Plan on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred. 

18 

 
 
 
civil society organisations and faith-based actors.  Working closely with those responsible for 
promoting  rights  at  global,  regional  and  country  levels85  reinforces  the  credibility  and  the 
effectiveness  of  EU  action  within  and  outside  the  Union:  the  Commission  and  the  High 
Representative  will  reinforce  their  engagement  and  networks  at  all  levels,  leveraging  EU 
diplomatic work and concrete actions and external partnerships. The participation of the EU 
in  the  International  Holocaust  Remembrance  Alliance  allows  for  closer  cooperation  on 
combating Holocaust denial and preventing racism, xenophobia and antisemitism. 

Finally,  EU  institutions,  their  workplaces  and  their  staff  adhere  to  the  highest  standards  in 
tackling  discrimination  and  combatting  hatred.  This  is  a  major  priority  for  the  Commission 
and the updated Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan 2023-2024 will act as a focus for internal 
human resources, ethics and communication policy. 

The Commission will: 

-  Provide  Envoys  with  an  explicit  mandate  to  deepen  coordination,  including  through 
specific  EU  funded  projects,  and  to  maximise  the  potential  of  EU  policies  to  combat 
hatred, online and directly.  

-  Hold an Article 17 special meeting on interfaith dialogue on 19 December 2023. 

6. 

CONCLUSION 

“What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the 
bystander”.  

Elie Wiesel - Nobel laureate, Holocaust survivor  

The  EU  was  born  out  of  determination  to  come  together  after  the  war  to  unite  around  the 
values  at  the  core  of  an  inclusive,  diverse,  and  democratic  society.  With  two  wars  in  our 
neighbourhood  and  with  daily  evidence  of  division  being  imported  into  our  homes  and 
communities, Europe needs to show its determination to respect and promote those values.   

In  early  2024,  the  Commission  will  organise  a  high-level  anti-hatred  conference  with  high-
profile participants engaged in the fight against hate and discrimination. It will open a pan-
European space of dialogue and reconciliation, to allow moving from hatred and division 
to the shared enjoyment of our European values of equality and respect for human rights and 
dignity.  With this  aim,  the  Commission  will  also  bring  together,  at  European  level,  citizens 
from across the EU, in particular young people, with decision-makers, experts and members 
of the most affected communities. These European dialogues for reconciliation should result 
in recommendations on how to build bridges across fractured communities and bring to life 
the  EU’s  motto  of  living  “United  in  diversity”.  The  Commission  will  encourage  Member 
States to organise similar dialogues at national level, and beyond.  

Hatred is unacceptable in the European Union and worldwide. Politicians and public figures 
as well as citizens from all walks of life should be ready to stand up and speak up. We must 
leave no doubt about our determination not only to protect our values, but to do everything in 
our power to put them into practice. Protecting those at risk from hatred is essential to protect 

85   For  example,  the  UN  Special  Rapporteur  on  Freedom  of  Religion  and  Belief,  the  Council  of  Europe 
Commissioner  for  Human  Rights  and  its  Special  Representative  on  Anti-Semitic,  Anti-Muslim  and  other 
forms of religious intolerance and hate crimes. 

19 

 
 
 
our  society  and  our  way  of  life.  Acting  together,  the  EU  can  be  a  powerful  force  to 
demonstrate this determination, to call on all Europeans to stand up against hatred and speak 
up for equality, inclusion and respect.  

20