2019 marks the tenth year of application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; the opportunity for the EU Council to take stock of its application. On Wednesday 25 September, the Member States' ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) endorsed the EU Council's conclusions on "the progress of the Charter and further work".
The text places particular emphasis on Charter awareness and training. It invites Member States to strengthen their activities in these areas and recommends that the possibility of developing and implementing guidelines and training programmes on the Charter be examined.
The conclusions highlight in particular the usefulness of the European ‘e-Justice’ portal in raising awareness of the Charter and suggest the creation of a special page on which Member States could publish and update their good practices on raising awareness of the Charter and its use.
The EU Council also invites the Commission to continue its efforts to ensure consistency with the Charter in all its legislative and policy initiatives, as well as to continue to carry out systematic impact assessments in terms of fundamental right matters for all relevant legislative proposals.
The conclusions also welcome the work of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency and recognise the essential role of civil society organisations in raising awareness and supporting citizens in exercising their rights.
The text also underlines the importance of the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union in terms of the interpretation and application of the Charter and reaffirms the EU Council's support for the EU's accession to the European Convention on Human Rights.
On the same day, Coreper endorsed the EU Council conclusions on the means of action of the European Judicial Cooperation Agency, Eurojust, in the digital age (see EUROPE 12333/2). The two draft conclusions will be formally adopted by the European ministers of justice on 7 October in Luxembourg. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)