The French government has appointed Jean Kahn, the leader of the European Jewish Congress, as the French representative to the newly created European Consultative Commission on racism and xenophobia.
The appointment of Kahn, who is also head of CRIF, the umbrella of France’s Jewish organizations, was announced by French Minister for European Affairs Alain Lamassoure.
The member states of the European Union ratified the creation of the new anti-racism commission, at the suggestion of France and Germany, during the latest E.U. summit, which was held June 24-25 on the Greek island of Corfu.
Each member of the E.U. — including the four newest members, Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden — will have one representative on the new commission, which is charged with assessing national and community policies in the struggle against racism and xenophobia.
The chairman of the commission will be elected in the coming weeks, according to German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel. Germany currently holds the E.U. presidency.
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