On the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, opens the solemn ceremony with an introductory speech in the hemicycle. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Brussels

statement

plenary session

ceremony

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

Holocaust remembrance (T)

president's agenda

International Holocaust Remembrance Day: opening of the ceremony, video clip and introductory remarks by Roberta METSOLA, EP President

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Good morning, colleagues. Today, the European Parliament marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We pay tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to counter anti-Semitism, racism and all other forms of hate. Europe remembers.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, I invite you first to to view a video depicting the horror of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp as seen from the eyes of one of its survivors, the first woman president of this European Parliament, Simone Veil.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Dear colleagues. Dear Irene Shashar. Every year at the end of January, this Parliament marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. In 1945, we remember the victims of the Holocaust. We remember the 6 million Jewish people, Romani people, LGBT communities, and many others who were stripped of their dignity because of their religious faith, their ethnicity, race or disability.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, The path that led to Auschwitz and the Holocaust began generations before with scapegoating, bullying and dehumanisation. It began with ostracising those seen as different by blaming the other. The German Nazi regime exterminated 17 million men, women and children and inflicted unimaginable suffering and pain on millions more, while others silence stood complicit.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, As one survivor put it. The truly horrific thing was the absence of horror of so many. The comfort of indifference meant too many closed their eyes and turned away. I am proud that the European Parliament is not a place of indifference.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, I am proud that this House speaks up against Holocaust deniers, against conspiracy myths, against disinformation and against violence that deliberately targets and singles out members of our communities. Because despite decades of effort, we have not yet done enough to combat discrimination.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Dear Irene, we are honoured to have you here in the European Parliament for this solemn ceremony of remembrance. The European Parliament understands its responsibility. In the vigil we had to sit on Israel's recollection of the horrors of Auschwitz with the numbers 78651 tattoed udner her skin she survived the evil of concentration camps and changed the face of modern Europe.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Althought none of us can understand the pain that you suffered and you being a hidden child during the war with nothing but your beloved dog,as your sole companion. We will listen to your story. We will take your lessons with us. We will remember. On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we recalled the importance of sharing stories like yours today and for generations to follow. Of protecting our values.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, The story of Europe is one of ideals and of values. It is one of overcoming tragedy. Of building bridges between people. Of turning enemies into partners and friends. Of building from the ashes. Over the years, our union has transformed the lives of millions. We tore down barriers and replaced them with common values. We achieved freedom, guaranteed prosperity, and provided opportunity.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, We must continue to remember Europe's story, to remember its horrors and to treasure its accomplishment in overcoming them. To understand where we came from and why. And to teach these lessons to our children. Ladies and gentlemen, we remember. I would now like to invite you all to listen to Marcello Nisinman, a composer and performer of the bandoneon. He composed this piece, especially for today's Holocaust Remembrance Day event in the European Parliament.