There’s a lesson for the EU from Britain’s riots: do more to prevent hatred and division – or violence follows

The German NGO Mission Lifeline rescuing a young migrant off the coast of Sicily in November 2022. Photograph: Severine Kpoti/Mission Lifeline/AFP/Getty Images

European Union officials watched from the sidelines as racist violence fuelled by the far right spread across British cities earlier this month. They must learn lessons from Britain’s experience and take a long hard look at their own dismal record in addressing racial discrimination, countering Islamophobia and preventing hate against migrants.

Such reflection is urgent, given the stunning gains made by the far right in recent European elections and because Germany’s extreme-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) may win in this weekend’s state elections in Saxony and Thuringia. Last week’s stabbing in Solingen by a suspected member of Islamic State has increased pressure on German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s already shaky coalition, adding to my fears that an AfD victory will push the EU collectively even further into once-taboo far-right territory.