The EU Framework as a Model? Supranational Approaches to Combating Antisemitism
2- 4 June 2026 | Brussels, Belgium
EPNA’s three-day workshop brings together practitioners from Europe, the WANA region, and transatlantic and Abraham Accords contexts to examine EU institutional frameworks and explore what supranational policy approaches to antisemitism prevention can offer — and where they fall short.
Antisemitism does not respect national borders — and policies designed within them are not simply inadequate, they are structurally ill-suited to the challenge they aim to address. Effective responses must therefore operate at a level that matches the scale and reach of the problem. EU institutions offer a concrete and instructive example of supranational policymaking in action. But “instructive” cuts both ways: alongside genuine achievements, EU frameworks also reveal significant gaps — in implementation, in reach, and in their ability to incorporate the lived experience of practitioners working on the ground.
This is where networks like EPNA have a critical role to play — not only in engaging with existing policy frameworks, but in actively shaping them: accompanying policy development from early stages, surfacing what institutional approaches miss or distort, and insisting that practitioner knowledge be treated as a primary source rather than an afterthought.
The workshop will explore the following questions:
- How do EU institutions and frameworks function in the fight against antisemitism — and where do they fall short?
- What can actors inside and outside Europe learn from EU approaches, including from their failures and blind spots?
- How do the experiences of European organisations differ from those in the WANA region or the United States — and what do these differences reveal about the limits of EU-centric models?
- How can networks like EPNA accompany and critically inform policy processes, rather than simply responding to them?
- How can international cooperation strengthen supranational approaches — and how do we ensure that policy briefs reflect practitioner realities, not just institutional logics?
The programme combines expert input, working group sessions, and structured exchange, with a strong emphasis on practical relevance and constructive-critical policy discussion. A panel discussion on the second day forms a central element of the agenda. Participants will also advance the collaborative development of Policy Briefs — with EPNA’s cross-border practitioner network positioned as a key resource for grounding these documents in lived experience and diverse regional perspectives.
The workshop is realized in cooperation with the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS), CEJI – A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe, and with the support of the European Commission’s Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life.
