The European Parliament is voting today on a resolution to condemn the rise of far right and neo-fascist violence across Europe.

Crucially, the draft calls for outlawing organisations that glorify Nazism and fascism and for governments to take decisive action against hate crime and hate speech.

The debate and resolution came about after GUE/NGL MEP Eleonora Forenza (L'altra Europa, Italy), her assistant Antonio Perillo and others were violently attacked last month in the Italian city of Bari by CasaPound fascist squad.

“I proposed a debate and resolution on behalf of GUE/NGL about the alarming rise of neo-fascist violence in Europe. I consider very important that the resolution strongly condemns all violent attacks by neo-fascist groups and, in particular, the recent attack by CasaPound against me, Perillo and others who took part in the anti-fascist demonstration in Bari on the 21st of September,” the Italian MEP declared.

“It is of huge importance that the resolution urges member states to effectively ban neo-fascist and neo-Nazi groups and foundations. It is also significant that three lead negotiators of the resolution in the left are feminists, who today will take on the floor. Feminism is the most powerful antidote against fascism, racism and patriarchy.”

“We must stop neo-fascist violence in Europe. We must ban neo-fascist groups and reiterate that the European project is anti-fascist. We must defeat the sexist and racist cultures that have given rise to fascism – both old and new – which, sadly, have become the norm again in many member state governments,” Forenza concluded.