European Union

But EU diplomats warn that this is unlikely to be Hungary's last veto.

The post Hungary lifts blockade on EU Russia sanctions renewal appeared first on Euractiv.

Written by Alina-Alexandra Georgescu.

It is now 80 years since the liberation of Nazi Germany’s concentration and extermination camp, Auschwitz‑Birkenau, in Poland. A major commemoration event is taking place at the former camp on International Holocaust Remembrance Day; it will be attended by numerous Heads of State or Government, and other dignitaries, in a context of growing antisemitism across Europe.

Commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz

On Monday 27 January 2025 – International Holocaust Remembrance Day – a memorial event will take place at Auschwitz-Birkenau to mark 80 years since the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp was liberated. All remaining Auschwitz survivors have been invited to the event and some 50 are expected to attend. The main event will take place in front of the gate to the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp. To symbolise this moment of remembrance, a goods train wagon will stand in front of the gate. The German Nazis used this type of goods wagon to bring deported Jews to the camp. The wagons were manufactured in Germany and connected ghettos and hiding places with the ‘place of death‘. This particular wagon is dedicated to the memory of approximately 420 000 Hungarian Jews who were deported to Auschwitz between May and July 1944.

By the time the camp was liberated on 27 January 1945 by Red Army soldiers, the Nazis had murdered approximately 1.1 million people in Auschwitz. These people were mostly Jews, but also Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and people of other nationalities. There were only 7 000 prisoners left at the camp by the time of its liberation.

A number of survivors will be speaking at the ceremony. In addition, numerous public figures from the European Union (EU) and the Member States will attend, including the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and the president of the European Council, António Costa. The events around 27 January in Poland are being organised under the auspices of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU. Many memorial events will be taking place across Europe around this date.

Importance of Holocaust Remembrance Day in the current context

For the whole world, Auschwitz – a place tragically inscribed in the history of Poland and of Europe – is the most potent symbol of the Holocaust and the atrocities of the Second World War. This 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp is an opportunity for a collective commemoration of the victims, and a global reflection on the significance of the Nazi genocide of Jews and Roma in Europe. The annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day is a reminder of the danger of indifference and the need for constant vigilance to overcome stereotypes and prejudice. The refrain of ‘never again’ is one that had a direct bearing on the creation of what has become the European Union today, at its origin a project of peace and reconciliation after World War II.

These efforts to remember the Holocaust and learn from history are critically important in the current context, characterised by antisemitism and Holocaust denial, and distortion and trivialisation of history, caused or amplified by digital technology, social media, and foreign interference and propaganda. In July 2024, the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) published the results of its latest survey of Jewish people’s experiences and perceptions of antisemitism. It covered 13 EU Member States, accounting for around 96 % of the EU’s Jewish population. This survey, conducted even before the Hamas attacks in October 2023 and the war in Gaza, found persistent high rates of antisemitism. Confronted with prejudice and hostilities, most Jewish people do not feel able to live openly Jewish lives.

European Union action to counter intolerance and antisemitism

In line with its fundamental values of respect for human dignity and freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the EU has stepped up its efforts to counter these worrying trends. According to his mission letter, the Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, is responsible for leading both the European Commission’s fight against antisemitism and the dialogue with religious and philosophical organisations under Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. Since 2015, the Commission has had a Coordinator on combating antisemitism and in 2021 it adopted an EU strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life (2021-2030). This strategy envisages numerous measures in the sphere of education, research and remembrance of the Holocaust (Shoah). The EU has been a permanent international partner of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) since 2018, working closely with other IHRA members to combat Holocaust denial and prevent racism, xenophobia and antisemitism.

Role of the European Parliament

In 1995, Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of a European Holocaust Remembrance Day in all Member States. In January 2005, on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Parliament adopted a resolution proposing 27 January as European Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust in the EU. In November the same year, the United Nations General Assembly designated 27 January as an annual international day of commemoration to honour Holocaust victims. Since 2005, the European Parliament has marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day every year. This year, Parliament is holding a formal Holocaust commemoration ceremony during a plenary session on 29 January, with a formal address by Holocaust survivor Corrie Hermann.

Simone Veil, who was elected European Parliament President following the first direct elections to the European Parliament in 1979 – and who was the first woman to hold that office – was herself a survivor of Auschwitz. She expressed her firm conviction that teaching about the Holocaust was essential for Holocaust remembrance. The European Parliament’s current Vice-President responsible for Holocaust Remembrance Day and the fight against antisemitism is Pina Picierno (S&D, Italy). The House of European History, a European Parliament initiative in Brussels, has devoted part of its permanent exhibition to the Holocaust.

In an October 2017 resolution, Parliament called on the Member States to mark 2 August as the date to remember the victims of the Roma Holocaust and to include this community in the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January. The same year, in a resolution on antisemitism adopted on 1 June, Parliament called on the Member States to adopt and apply the working definition of antisemitism employed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, in order to identify and prosecute antisemitic attacks more efficiently and effectively. An October 2018 resolution on the rise of neo-fascist violence in Europe drew attention to growing violence against Jews and called on the Member States to counter Holocaust denial and trivialisation, and to mainstream the issue in education.

Parliament regularly adopts resolutions on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union, focusing on a wide range of issues pertaining to respect for human dignity, freedom, minority rights and antisemitism. Parliament’s September 2022 resolution on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2020 and 2021, for instance, gave a general overview of antisemitism, racism, anti‑LGBTIQ, anti Gypsyism and xenophobia.

In 2023, Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs began work to extend the list of EU crimes in Article 83 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to include hate speech and hate crime. Its report was a reaction to the 2021 Commission communication ‘A more inclusive and protective Europe: extending the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime‘, ‘whether because of race, religion, gender or sexuality’. In this framework, Parliament and the Council may establish minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions, to be applicable in all EU Member States. Parliament voted in support of the report in plenary on 18 January 2024. The European Parliament’s Working Group against Antisemitism, composed of more than 80 Members from across the political groups, cooperates with all EU institutions, other European Parliament intergroups, national parliaments, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It is active in countering and preventing antisemitic acts and behaviours, and protecting those affected.

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2025: 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

The EU issued a statement expressing deep concern about the continued escalation of the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), aggravated by the renewed offensive of the M23 supported by the Rwandan Armed Forces.

Weekly schedule of President António Costa, 27 January–2 February 2025.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

EU leaders will discuss European defence during an informal meeting at Palais d'Egmont.

Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/49 of 9 January 2025 amending Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Venezuela.

Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/85 of 13 January 2025 amending Decision (CFSP) 2024/385 establishing restrictive measures against those who support, facilitate or enable violent actions by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/43 of 9 January 2025 amending Decision (CFSP) 2017/2074 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Venezuela.

Press briefing ahead of the upcoming Foreign Affairs Council will take place on 24 January 2025 at 14.30.

The press briefing ahead of the General Affairs Council will take place on Tuesday 28 January 2025 at 10.00.

In his debrief to the European Parliament on the December European Council, President Costa highlighted the main topics discussed by the EU leaders including Ukraine, enlargement and the EU's role in the world.

During his speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, President Costa highlighted that the outermost regions have a strategic importance for the EU and that he will work to ensure that all nine outermost regions are fully recognised in the EU's cohesion policy, competitiveness compass, financial solutions, and sustainable development.

The Council adopted recommendations for seven countries to correct their excessive deficit situation within a set time period: Belgium, France, Italy, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Romania.

The Council today adopted recommendations endorsing the first-ever medium-term fiscal-structural plans and setting the net expenditure paths for 21 member states.

The Council approved the Commission’s positive assessment of the amended recovery and resilience plans submitted by Greece, Cyprus and Spain.

The Council adopted a third assistance measure worth €60 million under the EPF to the benefit the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Today, the Council appointed Preben Aamann as the new Director-General for Communication and Information (COMM).

The Council of the EU has adopted the European Health Data Space (EHDS) regulation, which will make it easier to exchange and access health data at EU level.