Updated

A senior European Union official has warned of rising anti-Semitism in Europe as attacks and threats against Jews continue in EU member countries.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Thursday that "in the last couple of years you've seen this age-old monster come up again in Europe."

Speaking before a conference on religious intolerance, he said: "This is unacceptable. I thought we knew better. I wouldn't have thought it would be possible ... but it's happening again."

The EU's fundamental rights agency says that anti-Semitic stereotyping is a reality in many countries and that some EU political parties are openly anti-Semitic.

Timmermans said that "it's a vital question for the future of Europe that our Jewish community feels at ease and completely at home."