Agency of the European Union
Location:	Vienna, Austria
Formation: - Signed - Established	1994/1998
Superseding pillar:	European Communities
Director:	Dr Beate Winkle
Website:	eumc.europa.eu

The European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) is an independent agency of the European Union based in Vienna whose goal is to provide the EU "with objective, reliable and comparable data at European level on the phenomena of racism and xenophobia in order to help them take measures or formulate courses of action within their respective spheres of competence." Image File history File links EUracism. ... The agencies of the European Union (or decentralised bodies of the European Union) are bodies which are distinct from the European Unions institutions, in that they have not been created by the treaties but rather by acts of secondary legislation, in order to accomplish a very specific task. ... Image File history File links Wien_3_Wappen. ... Vienna (German: , see also other names) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... The European Community (EC), most important of three European Communities, was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ... Image File history File links European_flag. ... The agencies of the European Union (or decentralised bodies of the European Union) are bodies which are distinct from the European Unions institutions, in that they have not been created by the treaties but rather by acts of secondary legislation, in order to accomplish a very specific task. ... Vienna (German: , see also other names) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ...

The EUMC grew from the Commission on Racism and Xenophobia (CRX), established in 1994, and also known as the Kahn Commission. In 1995, the Kahn the CRX was transformed into the EUMC, which was The EUMC was officially established by Council Regulation (EC) No 1035/97 of 2 June 1997. The Center started its activities in July 1998. It currently has 30 staff members.

A new proposal has been brought forward by the Commission to create a Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union. The Agency would replace the EUMC and would have a mandate to monitor human rights and discrimination generally in the implementation of Community law.

Report into rise in anti-semitic attacks in the EU

Main article: New anti-Semitism

In 2003 a report labelled ‘Manifestations of Anti-Semitism in the EU 2002 – 2003’[1] was published. It catalogued the noted rise of attacks on Jewish businesses, synagogues, cemeteries and Jews themselves. The countries with the most significant number of attacks were Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. It is the only report made by the EUMC on anti-Semitism. New anti-Semitism is the concept of an international resurgence of attacks on Jewish symbols, as well as the acceptance of anti-Semitic beliefs and their expression in public discourse, coming simultaneously from three political directions: the radical left, Islamism, and the far-right. ...

Report into Islamophobia in the EU following 9/11

Main article: Islamophobia

The largest monitoring project ever to be commissioned into Islamophobia was undertaken following 9/11 by the European Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC). Manifestations Slavery · Racial profiling · Lynching Hate speech · Hate crime · Hate groups Genocide · Holocaust · Pogrom Ethnocide · Ethnic cleansing · Race war Religious persecution · Gay bashing Movements Discriminatory Aryanism · Neo-Nazism · Supremacism Kahanism Anti-discriminatory Abolitionism · Civil rights · Gay rights Womens/Universal suffrage · Mens rights Childrens rights · Youth rights Disability...

From a total of 75 reports – 15 from each EU member nation - a synthesis report was published in May 2002. Entitled "Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001" ^[2] it was co-authored by Chris Allen (UK) [3] and Professor Jorgen S. Nielsen at the University of Birmingham, England. Chris Allen is a leading academic voice in contemporary Islamophobia and was the co-author of the Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001 with Jorgen S. Nielsen in May 2002. ...

The report highlighted the occasions where Muslims face abusive and sometimes violent retaliatory attacks. Despite localised differences within each member nation, the recurrence of attacks at street level upon recognisable and visible traits of Islam and Muslims was the report's most significant finding: ranging from verbal abuse indiscriminately blaming all Muslims for the attacks; women having their hijab torn from their heads; male and female Muslims being spat at; children being called "Usama" as a term for insult and derision ; and random assaults. The representation of Muslims in the media was also noted. Some medias attempted to differentiate between Muslim terrorists and other Muslims but some did not. Similar concerns about the role of politicians and other opinion leaders was also raised. Within the mainstream of political activity, some political leaders made immediate verbal statements stressing the need to differentiate between 'Muslims' and 'terrorists'. Other countries (such as Portugal) had no problem tarnishing all Muslims as violent militants.

The report therefore concluded that, "a greater receptivity towards anti-Muslim and other xenophobic ideas and sentiments has, and may well continue, to become more tolerated" ^[4].

References

1. ^  ALLEN, C. & NIELSEN, J. (2002) Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001. Vienna: European Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia.
2. ^  Ibid, p.43.

External links

• EUMC Website