23 April 2022 - The Commission welcomes the swift political agreement reached between the European Parliament and EU Member States on the proposal on the Digital Services Act (DSA), proposed by the Commission in December 2020.
The European Parliament adopted, on 7 April 2022, with an overwhelming majority a Resolution on the EU Protection of children and young people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The Resolution - initiated by the Intergroup on Children’s Rights - features important provisions to address the specific plight of children and young people fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. It stresses to need for the creation of a robust registration system at the border, to track and monitor children, with a particular attention of unaccompanied children to ensure they do not go missing or worse, end up in the hands of traffickers. It also includes strong measures to for the integration of these children in the hosting countries granting them immediate access to education and health on equal footing with their EU national peers, so as to ensure all these children are given a real change to excel and reach their full potential.
This Resolution comes after the European Commission Communication on the Ukraine: EU support to help Member States meet the needs of refugees , as well as the 10-action point of 23 March aimed at supporting all people fleeing from Ukraine, and provide specific measure to support neighboring countries.
On 8 March 2022, the European Commission released its proposal on EU-wide rules to combat violence against women and domestic violence. The proposed Directive will criminalise rape based on lack of consent, female genital mutilation and cyber violence, which includes: non-consensual sharing of intimate images; cyber stalking; cyber harassment; and cyber incitement to violence or hatred. The new rules also strengthen victims' access to justice and encourage Member States to implement a one-stop shop mechanism, meaning that all support and protection services would be located in the same place. The victims should be able to claim compensation in the course of criminal proceedings. The proposal also calls for adequate and specialised protection and support, for instance, through free of charge helplines and rape crisis centres. It also provides for targeted support for groups with specific needs or at risk, including women fleeing armed conflict.
Amongst others, this proposal aims at providing for specific safeguards for child victims of violence against women or domestic violence, guaranteeing, for example, that children can easily report offences and are provided with safe places for with parent offenders, who have rights of access.
From 31 March until 30 June 2022, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child is inviting young people from around the world to complete a questionnaire that will help shape the content of the General Comment No. 26 ( General Comment on Children’s Rights and the Environment with a Special Focus on Climate Change).
This is the official UN guidance on what governments must do to uphold children’s rights and protect our planet.
This consultation will help fill gaps in their current understanding of certain key issues and clarify difficult concepts (e.g. rights of future generations) and most importantly, integrate the voices of children and young people and the most impacted by the issue.
28 March 2022 - Katharina von Schnurbein met with Marek Siwiec, CEO of Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center (BYHMC), and Ruslan Kavatsiuk, Deputy CEO, to discuss the impact of the Russian military agression on Ukraine on Ukrainian Jews, Ukrainian Jewish heritage and the work of BYHMC.
31 March 2022 - The European Commission Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life joined a panel discussion of special, Lord John Mann (United Kingdom), Dr. Felix Klein (Germany) and US Deputy Special envoy Aaron Keyak at the hybrid Jerusalem Post Conference gathering about 450 people at the Tottenham Stadium premises.
The European Commission organises an online info session on the Call for proposals for actions on the protection of public spaces (including places of worship, CBRN-E, unmanned aircraft systems) (ISF-2022-TF1-AG-PROTECT).
In its conclusions of 24-25 March, the European Council called on Member States to intensify their efforts in a continued spirit of unity and solidarity, and it invited the Commission to take the necessary initiatives to facilitate such efforts.
20 March 2022 - Vice President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, took part in Greece's commemoration ceremony of the deportation of Jews from Thessaloniki during World War II and laid flowers at the train that traveled 79 years ago with the first 2,800 Jews from Thessaloniki to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
21 March 2022 - In a workshop on 'Combating the mainstreaming of radical discourse among young people' organised by the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN), Katharina von Schnurbein, Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, addressed the dangerous rise of antisemitic discourse online and offline and the need to take concrete actions to raise awareness and educate about and safeguard the facts in order to prevent and counter the scourge of antisemitism.
14 March 2022 - In a joint hearing organised by the Council's Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination with the No Hate Parliamentary Alliance, Katharina von Schnurbein presented the EU Antisemitism Strategy and recommendations ahead of the report that is being prepared on Combating antisemitism in Europe for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
16 March 2022 - In an online panel discussion organised by the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission's Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, together with Edwin Shuker, Vice President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, addressed the importance of cultural heritage recovery to combat antisemitism and terrorism.
17 March 2022 - The Council of Europe adopted the 'Recommendation on passing on remembrance of the Holocaust and preventing crimes against humanity' addressed to the governments of its 46 member states. The text represents a comprehensive and up-to-date guidance on how to ensure remembrance of the Holocaust at a time when there are fewer and fewer survivors to bear direct witness.
16 March 2022 - Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, met with Jewish students from across and beyond Europe as part of the EU Activism Seminar and discussed the fight against antisemitism and the efforts EU does in order to ensure a safer and more inclusive society for students, both online and offline.
10 March 2022 - Equinet brought together equality body staff, representatives of EU institutions and national authorities, and (Jewish) civil society organisations and communities in a workshop that aimed to encourage them to discuss, share best practices and find best solutions to tackle antisemitism.
During its February 22nd plenary, the EDPB adopted the following documents:
2 March 2022 - At an informative session organised by Women(s International Zionist Organisation (WIZO) of Austria and Germany, Katharina von Schnurbein, presented the work of the EU in the fight against antisemitism and the promotion of Jewish life in Europe. The presentation was followed by an open discussion with the participants.
4 March 2022 - The Council of the European Union adopted today the Conclusions on combating racism and antisemitism which endorse the EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life and invite Member States to develop national action plans and/or strategies, and endeavor to do so by the end of 2022.
1 March 2022 - Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, met with Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League in Brussels to discuss the current challenges, in particular with regards to antisemitic hate speech, conspiracy myths and disinformation online and the need to education about Jewish life and antisemitism.
1 March 2022 - In Putin’s war against Ukraine, a missile strike hit Kyiv’s television tower that is located close to the memorial site of Babyn Yar, the ravine where more than 30,771 Jews were shot in the autumn of 1941 by the Nazis.
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