Source: European Parliament
14.10.2024
Question for written answer E-002046/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Nikolaos Anadiotis (NI)
In 2014, the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports issued its first report on the 3 390 cases of vandalism against religious sites in Greece[1], a trend that is rapidly rising. Indeed, cases of vandalism in 2022 quadrupled compared to 2015. What is even more striking is the spike in recorded acts of violence against the Orthodox Church and the desecration of Greek Orthodox churches. As many as 95.72 % of these attacks were targeted against the Orthodox Church, 1.74 % against Judaism, 1.18 % against Islam and less than 0.5 % against other religions.
The acts of violence in question include vandalism, break-ins, theft, burglaries, sacrilege, grave robbing, arson and other forms of desecration.
Given that the spike in religious intolerance was discussed during the Plenary debate on 10 October 2024, can the Commission answer the following:
How does it plan to help Member States tackle hate crimes and acts of vandalism against places of religious worship, ensuring that the EU’s values of religious freedom and safety are respected?
Submitted: 14.10.2024
- [1] https://www.minedu.gov.gr/publications/docs2023/gen_gram_thrisk/%CE%88%CE%BA%CE%B8%CE%B5%CF%83%CE%B7%202022.pdf