European Parliament resolution of 19 September 2019 on the importance of European remembrance for the future of Europe
European Parliament resolution on the importance of European remembrance for the future of Europe (19 September 2019)
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on 19 September 2019 that calls for Europe to remember the crimes of totalitarian regimes and to oppose propaganda that denies or glorifies them. It links memory to the health of democracy and Europe’s future, and it views Russian information efforts as a challenge to democratic Europe.
Key points:
- The resolution says Nazi and communist regimes carried out mass murders, genocide, and deportations, deeply affecting the 20th century.
- It condemns Russian state propaganda that whitewashes communist crimes and criticizes the current Russian leadership for distorting historical facts, describing this as an information war against Europe.
- It urges urgent actions: raise awareness, pursue moral assessments, and conduct legal inquiries into Stalinism and other dictatorships; encourage Russian society to come to terms with its past; condemn the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact; and recognize the European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Stalinism and Nazism.
- It expresses concern about the public display of totalitarian symbols and calls for removing monuments that glorify totalitarian regimes.
- Sponsors: the European People’s Party, the Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, and the European Conservatives and Reformists.
- The resolution is seen as part of a broader move in the EU to promote anti-communist views.
Reactions:
- Russia’s President Vladimir Putin called the resolution absolutely unacceptable.
- The Guardian noted links to Russia’s efforts in 2019 to rehabilitate the 1939 Nazi–Soviet non-aggression pact.
- In 2020, several European and U.S. foreign ministers accused Putin of falsifying history.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:01 (CET).