On the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2024 and 2025

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2024 and 2025

(2025/2135(INI))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU),

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter),

– having regard to the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU),

having regard to Directive (EU) 2024/1385 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on combating violence against women and domestic violence,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/1083 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market and amending Directive 2010/13/EU (European Media Freedom Act),

– having regard to Directive (EU) 2024/1069 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings (‘Strategic lawsuits against public participation’)(Anti-SLAPP Directive),

– having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget (Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural person with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation),

– having regard to Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA of 28 November 2008 on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law,

– having regard to the Commission proposal of 2 July 2008 for a Council directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (COM(2008)0426)(Horizontal Anti-discrimination Directive),

– having regard to Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin,

– having regard to the EU LGBTIQ equality strategy 2020-2025 (COM(2020)0698), the gender equality strategy 2020-2025 (COM(2020)0152), the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021-2030 (COM(2021)0101), the EU anti-racism action plan 2020-2025 (COM(2020)0565), the EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation 2020-2030 (COM(2020)0620), and the announcement from the Commission to update and strengthen them,

– having regard to the EU strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (COM(2020)0711) and the Commission’s annual reports, in particular the 2024 Annual report on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – Funding to promote, protect and enforce fundamental rights (COM(2024)0456),

– having regard to the Commission communications of 24 July 2024 entitled ‘2024 Rule of Law Report – The rule of law situation in the European Union’ (COM(2024)0800) and of 8 July 2025 entitled ‘2025 Rule of Law report –The rule of law situation in the European Union’ (COM(2025)0900), and to the 27 Country Chapters annexed thereto,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 7 March 2025 entitled ‘A Roadmap for Women’s Rights’ (COM(2025)0097), which outlines a long-term vision for achieving gender equality,

– having regard to the UN human rights treaties and instruments on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the recommendations and reports of the UN Universal Periodic Review, and the case-law of the UN treaty bodies and the special procedures of the Human Rights Council,

– having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) which was ratified by the EU on 23 December 2010 and to which all Member States are parties, the Optional Protocol to the CRPD which has been ratified by 22 Member States, as well as the General Comments on the CRPD and the observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,

– having regard to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),

– having regard to the Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics,

– having regard to the recommendations and reports of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the High Commissioner on National Minorities, the Representative on Freedom of the Media and other bodies of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE),

– having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR),

– having regard to the recommendations, opinions, reports and resolutions of the Council of Europe, in particular of the Venice Commission, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), the Steering Committee on Anti-discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion, the Parliamentary Assembly, the European Committee of Social Rights and other bodies of the Council of Europe,

– having regard to the statements, recommendations, reports and country visits of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, including his report of 4 September 2025 entitled ‘Externalised asylum and migration policies and human rights law’,

– having regard to the Council of Europe Safety of Journalists Platform,

– having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention), which was ratified by the European Union on 28 June 2023,

– having regard to the European Social Charter of the Council of Europe,

– having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights and its action plan,

– having regard to the reports, surveys and opinions of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), in particular its Fundamental Rights Report 2024 and Fundamental Rights Report 2025,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation of fundamental rights in the EU,

– having regard to its resolutions on the Commission’s rule of law reports,

– having regard to its resolutions on specific Member States, including Greece, Hungary and Slovakia,

– having regard to its resolution of 8 February 2024 on the implementation of the EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025,

– having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2022 towards equal rights for persons with disabilities,

– having regard to its resolution of 10 November 2022 on racial justice, non-discrimination and anti-racism in the EU,

– having regard to its resolution of 8 March 2022 on the shrinking space for civil society in Europe,

– having regard to its resolution of 14 December 2021 with recommendations to the Commission on combating gender-based violence: cyberviolence,

– having regard to its resolution of 16 September 2021 with recommendations to the Commission on identifying gender-based violence as a new area of crime listed in Article 83(1) TFEU, and to its resolution of 18 January 2024 on extending the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime,

– having regard to its resolution of 7 October 2020 on the establishment of an EU Mechanism on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A100000/2025),

A. whereas democratic backsliding is being observed in several Member States;

B. whereas corruption remains a serious concern;

C. whereas media freedom across the EU remains under threat, particularly in Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Hungary and Slovakia; whereas strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) remain a threat to media freedom;

D. whereas journalists and media workers are suffering from precarious conditions and an unsafe environment;

E. whereas the spread of disinformation polarises and weakens democracy;

F. whereas new technologies, including AI systems, risk exacerbating discrimination and existing inequalities; whereas the use of spyware, facial recognition and mass surveillance technologies represent abusive and undemocratic practices;

G. whereas compliance with the Union values laid down in Article 2 TEU is a fundamental prerequisite to accessing EU funds;

H. whereas the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights recommends carrying out comprehensive human rights risk assessments before engaging in external cooperation;

I. whereas attempts to suspend the registration of asylum applications is a matter of serious concern; whereas the human rights of the people concerned must be respected, their protection needs assessed, and those who qualify for international protection must be given access to meaningful protection measures;

J. whereas gender-based violence against women and LGBTIQ+ people remains pervasive, particularly for those experiencing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination; whereas the denial of access to safe and legal abortion is a form of gender-based violence;

K. whereas there is an unprecedented and intensified attack on civic space across the EU; whereas attacks on civil society organisations (CSOs) and human rights defenders (HRDs) that protect and promote Union values have increased and remain a matter of serious concern;

L. whereas in some Member States, such as Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Poland and Spain, CSOs and HRDs have faced prosecution for assisting refugees and migrants;

M. whereas EU funding for civil society should be ensured in the next multiannual financial framework (MFF);

N. whereas institutionalised racism is ingrained in governmental policies and public services such as police forces;

O. whereas FRA surveys of Black people, Jews, Muslims and LGBTIQ+ people in the EU show that they experience widespread hatred;

Fundamental rights at stake

1. Urges the Commission and the Member States to respect and promote EU values as enshrined in Article 2 TEU;

2. Urges the Commission to strengthen the annual reports on the application of the Charter;

3. Underlines the need to strengthen monitoring and evaluation mechanisms;

Democracy under stress

4. Reiterates the need to establish an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights;

5. Urges the Member States to combat corruption and to fully comply with GRECO’s recommendations;

6. Expresses deep concern about the increasing pressure, political interference and attacks on media and journalism in several Member States, including the lack of independence of public service media;

7. Deplores the systemic failures in investigating and prosecuting crimes against journalists in several Member States such as Malta, Greece and Slovakia;

8. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the safety and protection of journalists and media actors and to promote free, independent and pluralistic media; calls on the Commission and the Member States to implement the necessary measures to put an end to all SLAPP cases in the EU;

9. Shares the opinion of the UN Secretary-General that algorithms should not control what people see and that tech companies should use business models that do not prioritise engagement above human rights;

10. Reiterates its call on the Member States, and in particular on Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Hungary, Poland and Spain, to follow all the recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA) and the Venice Commission;

11. Calls for the EU’s accession to the ECHR to be finalised;

Fundamental rights violations at borders

12. Strongly condemns the widespread fundamental rights violations at borders, including pushbacks, which are becoming a systematic practice in several Member States;

13. Calls for the EU and the Member States to comply with international human rights obligations and commitments and to refrain from adopting migration policies that exacerbate inequality and exclusion;

14. Urges the Commission and the Member States to end the systematic obstruction of non-governmental search and rescue (SAR) efforts; recalls the urgent need to set up an EU search and rescue fund and calls for the EU institutions to allocate appropriate funding for this purpose in the next MFF;

15. Urges Member States to follow the recommendations from the report of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights; strongly condemns the recurrent anti-refugee and anti-migrant rhetoric;

16. Calls on the Member States to implement the Migration and Asylum Pact in full; expresses concern regarding the lack of preparedness by some Member States to meet the implementation deadline, in particular with regard to provisions relating to fundamental rights;

Gender-based violence, women’s rights and the rights of LGBTIQ+ people

17. Urges the Commission and the Member States to take the necessary measures to fight anti-gender and anti-rights movements;

18. Welcomes the EU Roadmap for Women’s Rights and the Declaration of principles for a gender-equal society annexed thereto; regrets, however, the lack of strong financial commitments;

19. Urges the EU and the Member States to combat all forms of gender-based violence and to address their root causes, including gender-based cyberviolence; reiterates its call on the Commission to recognise gender-based violence as a new EU crime under Article 83(1) TFEU;

20. Reiterates its call for the inclusion of the right to abortion in the Charter; stresses that there is still no EU definition of rape based on the lack of consent;

21. Calls on Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia to ratify the Istanbul Convention;

Civil society under threat

22. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure and promote the engagement and effective participation of citizens and CSOs in policymaking;

23. Calls on the Commission to guarantee that the upcoming EU civil society strategy supports, protects and empowers CSOs and HRDs protecting and promoting EU values and to set up a rapid response mechanism in the EU to support them;

24. Strongly condemns the continuous criminalisation of solidarity and urges the Member States to refrain from doing so;

25. Urges the Commission and the Member States to guarantee that people can exercise their right to peaceful assembly and to refrain from putting forward any initiative that can have a chilling effect on the civic space;

Structural racism and discrimination

26. Reiterates its calls to unblock the Horizontal Anti-Discrimination Directive;

27. Calls on the Commission to present ambitious equality and anti-racism strategies;

28. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to tackle xenophobia, racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and other forms of prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and hatred against vulnerable people;

29. Urges the Member States, in particular Hungary and Slovakia, to review laws that discriminate against LGBTIQ+ persons and rainbow families and to refrain from putting forward any initiative that risks undermining the rights of LGBTIQ+ people, including the so-called anti-LGBTI propaganda laws, and to ban conversion therapies;

30. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to address discrimination and social exclusion faced by Roma and persons with disabilities;

Environmental, social and economic rights at risk

31. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure an adequate standard of living and healthy environment for all, including access to housing, quality education, social security and healthcare;

32. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The years 2024 and 2025 have seen fundamental rights in the European Union come under increasing pressure from different fronts. Threats to the rule of law, shrinking civic space, a rise in hate speech and xenophobic narratives, violence against refugees and migrants, and the undermining of women’s and LGBTQ+ rights illustrate a worrying trend.

This erosion of fundamental rights has been exacerbated by enduring socio-economic inequalities. While Russia’s war against Ukraine continues, the attacks on Gaza persist, and more leaders display autocratic behaviour, fundamental rights are increasingly under pressure. In these tense times, there is a real risk that fundamental rights are sidelined on the political agenda.

Precisely in moments of instability, it is crucial to recall the values on which the European Union is founded: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, all enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and in the EU Treaties. Upholding these principles is not only a legal obligation for EU institutions and Member States, but also what makes Europe a unique political project with citizens’ well-being at its core. The EU must not compromise on these foundations. Fundamental rights are not static; they require active promotion and implementation.

The attacks on civic space across Europe are one of the signs of weakening democracy. The recent restriction to the right to peaceful assembly, in particular bans on pro-Palestine protests and Pride events, as well as the repression and criminalisation of human rights defenders (HRDs) and NGOs working with refugees, asylum seekers and migrants set dangerous precedents. This is intensified by the funding restrictions from the US and the EU to civil society organizations.

The Rapporteur is concerned about the growing polarisation and fragmentation of European societies, often fuelled by populist political actors. Scapegoating minorities, exploiting identity politics, and spreading disinformation divides communities and erodes trust. Politicians and governments have a duty to uphold democratic standards and refrain from rhetoric that fuels hatred, racism, and violence.

Rapid digital change and artificial intelligence aggravate these risks, as the unchecked spread of hate speech and harmful content online, together with biased algorithms and manipulative design, undermine equality and civic life. These threats became particularly visible during the European elections, when reports found an increase in online hate speech, violence and death threats across various Member States. Moreover, security services in some countries warned about the rapid online radicalisation of young people, particularly within right-wing extremist networks. Finally, foreign interference in electoral processes is a clear example of how online platforms can be weaponised to undermine democracy.

In the years ahead, the Union must renew its democratic foundations, strengthen citizens’ participation, and place equality, justice and sustainability at the heart of its policies. Only by actively defending and advancing rights can the EU rebuild trust in its institutions, and remain credible on the international stage,

Approach by the Rapporteur

With this report, the Rapporteur seeks to highlight the main developments in the state of fundamental rights in the EU during 2024 and 2025.

The limited length of own-initiative reports requires prioritisation, yet the absence of certain concerns does not diminish their importance. This text provides a general framework which can and will be further enriched during the amendment stage.

Structure

The draft report is structured around clusters of fundamental rights. While the first part of the Report provides an overview of the main fundamental rights concerns in the EU, the individual chapters include concrete calls to action in order to make the report as practical, focused and actional as possible.

These are the main chapters:

Fundamental rights at stake

This chapter includes general calls for the upholding of fundamental rights, including for instance the promotion of EU values

Democracy under stress

This chapter addresses backsliding in several Member States, including threats to judicial independence, high-level corruption, misuse of spyware, and weakening parliamentary rights. It also highlights risks to media freedom and pluralism, the spread of disinformation, and the abuse of emergency powers.

Fundamental rights violations at borders

This chapter covers inter alia pushbacks, systemic violence, and externalisation policies that undermine access to asylum and breach non-refoulement. It calls for accountability and EU action to ensure that migration management respects human dignity.

Gender-based violence, women’s rights and the rights of LGBTIQ+ people

This chapter stresses the urgent need to combat gender-based violence, including and anti-gender movements. It calls for the protection of sexual and reproductive rights, the inclusion of the right to abortion in the Charter, and stronger safeguards for LGBTIQ+ people against hate and discrimination.

Civil society under threat

This chapter covers the unprecedented restrictions on civic space. It calls for sustainable EU funding for CSOs and protection of human rights defenders.

Structural racism and discrimination

This chapter addresses systemic racism and discrimination. It calls for the adoption of the Horizontal Anti-Discrimination Directive, stronger equality strategies, and enforcement of EU anti-discrimination law.

Environmental, social, economic and cultural rights at risk

This chapter highlights rising poverty, housing exclusion, and homelessness as fundamental rights concerns. It stresses the right to a sustainable environment and calls for a just transition.