Anti-Semitism has no place in EU, Brussels says on Slovenia PM tweet

FILE PHOTO: European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Anti-Semitism has no place in the EU, a spokesperson for the bloc's executive Commission said on Friday, reacting to a tweet by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa that referred to Jewish U.S. financier George Soros and was criticized as anti-Semitic.

"Social media should be a place for constructive and respectful debate. It should not be a place for personal attacks against individuals, be it private or public figures," the spokesperson told reporters in Brussels.

"Anti-Semitism has no place in the European Union...It presents a threat not only to Jewish communities but to an open and diverse society."

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)