2| 2010 FES against right-wing extremism Is Europe on the“right path”? Right-wing extremism in Europe * Introduction Right-wing extremism is not just a national phenomenon. Xenophobia, anti-Semitism and racism are present in many countries, and the extreme right is increasingly building international networks. Prejudice towards sections of society based on inequality, discriminatory actions and structures or even open hatred and violence reveal a dis­turbing level of hostility against specific groups in many parts of Europe and the world. In many places, right-wing extremists are employing a wide variety of strategies and structures in the attempt to exploit this hostility and gain a foothold in politics and society. They hold rallies and organise commemorations that rewrite history, they gather in informal groups or set up political parties, and in some cases they win parliamentary mandates. In the latest elections for the European Parliament the extreme right won 39 seats, scoring once again in the interna­tional arena with propaganda about scapegoats and exclusion. What danger does the extreme right actually pose? How do they project their image and organise themselves in Europe and its regions? What far right forms and strate­gies can we identify and how can we combat them effectively? Is Europe on the“right” path? Speaking at the beginning of the international confer­ence in November 2009, Nora Langenbacher, head of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s project,“Combating right-wing Speakers: • Welcome: Nora Langenbacher Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Forum Berlin • Opening address: Martin Schulz, MEP President of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament • Keynote Speech: Prof. Michael Minkenberg, Ph.D. Max Weber Chair for German and European Studies, New York University * Summary of a conference held in Berlin on 30 November 2009 Forum Berlin Editor: Nora Langenbacher, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, FORUM BERLIN| Text: Britta Schellenberg| Translation: Hatice Demircan| Editing: Karen Margolis| Photographs: Reiner Zensen| © Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung 2010| Hiroshimastraße 17| 10785 Berlin| Tel.+49(0) 30 26935-7309| Fax+49(0) 30 26935-9240| ISBN 978-3-86872-374-8| www.fes-gegen-rechtsextremismus.de FES GEGEN RECHTS EXTREMISMUS