30 MEPs Call for EU Coordinator on Anti-Christian Hate Crimes After Discussing New OIDAC Report

Posted on: November 19, 2025

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At the launch of OIDAC Europe’s 2025 Report at the European Parliament Intergroup for Freedom of Religion, Belief or Conscience, MEPs called on the EU to appoint a Coordinator to combat anti-Christian hate crimes, after new data showed a sharp rise in attacks and growing intolerance against Christians across the continent.

Christians in Europe have faced increased violence in 2024, including cases of murder. OIDAC Europe recorded 274 personal attacks on Christians, up from 232 in 2023. These figures were presented by Anja Tang, Executive Director of OIDAC Europe, during the launch of the organisation’s 2025 Report at a meeting of the Intergroup on Freedom of Religion, Belief and Conscience in the European Parliament on Tuesday.

Of the 2,211 anti-Christian hate crimes documented in 2024, the highest numbers were recorded in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain. In Spain, a 76-year-old monk was murdered in an attack on his monastery. Tragically, violence has continued in 2025: only weeks ago, Assyrian Christian Ashur Sarnaya was brutally murdered in France while livestreaming his religious testimony on social media, Tang told the MEPs.

“Not only are we observing a worrying number of attacks against Christians,” Tang said, “but we also find that Christians are confronted with increasing intolerance within broader society. Moreover, a growing number of Christians in Europe are facing prosecution for peacefully expressing their beliefs – among them Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen, who has been standing trial for over six years after tweeting a Bible verse in 2019.”

Intergroup Co-Chairs MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen and MEP Miriam Lexmann underlined the need for concrete EU action.

“Attacks and discrimination against Christians in Europe receive little attention, but the figures are alarming,” said Ruissen. “As an Intergroup of 30 concerned MEPs, we call on the EU and its Member States to finally take action.”

The 30 MEPs of the Intergroup on Freedom of Religion, Belief and Conscience issued three specific recommendations to the European Commission:

  1. Appoint a European Coordinator to combat attacks and discrimination against Christians, similar to the coordinators already established for combating antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred. (The Intergroup had previously called for this role in a letter to Commissioner Brunner in April 2025.)

  2. Request EU Member States to systematically collect and report data on attacks and discrimination against Christians.

  3. Provide EU funding for projects addressing these issues, comparable to existing funding for initiatives combating antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.

Photo (c) ECR Group