A senior Member of the European Parliament says the fight against anti-Semitism is "one of the most pressing issues the EU currently faces."

British Conservative Sajjad Karim stresses the Union's success in combating the issue will be "decisive" in maintaining a society that is based on "democratic principles and human rights."

He was speaking in Brussels at a joint meeting of the European Parliament's Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI) and the assembly's working group on Anti-Semitism (WGAS).

Karim, who is Vice-President of ARDI and chair of ARDI's Islamophobia working group, also welcomed the European Commission's decision to appoint Coordinators on Combating Anti-Semitism and Anti-Muslim hatred.

The European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) MEP told the meeting he hopes the move will contribute to the development of the Commission's overarching strategy to combat hate crime, hate speech, intolerance and discrimination.

The roundtable also called for the adoption of the EU's Equal Treatment Directive together with implementation of national strategies to combat anti-Semitism.

Speakers highlighted the need for "working together" with industry organisations and civil society to combat hate speech and crime as well as amplifying voices of tolerance and respect.

The roundtable comes after a couple of years in which anti-Semitic incidents rose, culminating in fatal terrorist attacks in several EU countries against Jewish citizens.

Both ethnic and religious discrimination are increasingly growing and becoming widespread across Europe, according to a Eurobarometer survey on discrimination which shows that 50% of Europeans believe religious discrimination is widespread.

In addition, according to data provided to the meeting, one in five people has experienced discrimination or harassment on the ground of religion in the past year.

According to a report by the Vienna-based EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise in Europe, adding to the already existing apprehension of European Jews.

The countries with the most alerting numbers of anti-Semitic incidents include France and Germany.

In France, the commission on human rights recorded 851 incidents last year in comparison to 423 incidents the previous year.

In Germany, police noted almost 1,600 “crimes with an anti-Semitic motive”, a much higher number in comparison to the previous 12 months.

Polish, Belgian, Czech and Dutch authorities also marked a sharp increase in anti-Semitism. Hungary and Sweden were the only EU countries which noted a decrease.

The parliamentary roundtable brought together different stakeholders to discuss how to combat hate crime, hate speech and discrimination against Jews and Muslims.

Spanish Socialist MEP Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, chair of WGAS, commented: “We have the responsibility, as policy makers, not only to discuss the problem but to implement concrete actions to combat these phenomena, with the help of the two newly appointed EU Coordinators on Anti-Semitism and on Anti-Muslim hatred.

"The WGAS unfortunately exists because we simply cannot tolerate anti-Semitism, whatever its form, in the European Union. The terrorist attacks that were carried out in different EU countries against European Jewish citizens by other European citizens must not only be unanimously denounced but prevented from happening in the future. We must fight the scourge of radicalisation and extremism by using the full force of legislation, education and the criminal justice system.”

Further comment came from German MEP Reinhard Butikofer, co-chair of the European Green Party, who said, “Anti-Semitism is not, has never been and never will be tolerable. Hatred, violence and discrimination based on race, religion or nationality, in this case against the Jewish community, are something we have to oppose with all the means available to us.

“However, resurgent anti-Semitic sentiment is spreading all around Europe, as recent data from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) suggest. 2014 witnessed increasing rates of anti-Semitic incidents in many EU countries, coinciding with the recrudescence of violence in the Middle East."

He said, "According to a recent FRA survey, 76% of respondents believe that anti-Semitism has increased in their country during the past five years, while 21% experienced anti-Semitic verbal or physical attacks in the previous 12 months.

‘’Together with the worrisome episodes we witnessed last year in Belgium, Denmark and elsewhere in Europe, this reminds us that anti-Semitism continues to be a topical and urgent problem that needs to be tackled in a serious and decisive way.’’

“State authorities have a moral and a legal obligation to protect their citizens and to make Europe a place where everyone can live safely and express their religious beliefs without fear. The EU and the Member States need to cooperate if anti-Semitism is to be countered effectively.

He called on all the EU countries to step up their efforts in collecting relevant data, implementing consistent criminal laws to punish all forms of anti-Semitism and in combating prejudice through relevant education policies.