On Tuesday 11 October the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) adopted a report on racial justice, non-discrimination and anti-racism in the EU, with 48 votes in favour, 6 against and 3 abstentions.
MEPs consider the European Commission’s anti-racism action plan for 2020-2025 to be “a first, important step”, but one lacking “follow-up mechanisms, ambitious benchmarks and clear targets” (see EUROPE 13026/19). The report, drafted by Evin Icnir (S&D, Swedish), denounces the persistence of structural racism in the EU and calls on the institutions to set an example, take into account the intersectional dimension of discrimination and develop the legislative framework.
Combating structural racism
In their report, MEPs repeatedly highlight the persistence of structural racism in the EU. In particular, they deplore the fact that minorities are confronted with cases of police violence or lack of access to the justice system, stressing the importance of training law enforcement and judicial authorities in this regard.
They also draw attention to the intersectional nature of discrimination, where a person may suffer from different forms of discrimination at the same time (gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.) and argue that European legislation, such as the Racial Equality Directive (2000/43), needs to be updated to take this into account.
An underutilised legal arsenal
LIBE also calls on the European Commission to ensure the full implementation by all Member States of the Racial Equality (2000/43) and Employment Equality (2000/78) Directives as well as the EU Council Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia (2008/913). They also call for the issue of discrimination to be included in all EU policies, including funding. They deplore the fact that the proposal for a directive on equal treatment has been blocked in the EU Council since 2008 (see EUROPE 13032/16).
Finally, MEPs expressed concern about algorithms that reproduce “social biases and structural inequalities” and the use of the internet as a “megaphone for hate”. They welcome the Commission’s intention to include hate speech and hate crime in the list of EU crimes and call on the EU Council to agree quickly on the adoption of this decision (see EUROPE 12902/24).
The report adopted in committee was subject to a series of compromise amendments, all of which were approved. Its final version will be presented and voted on at the November plenary session of the European Parliament. For its part, the Commission is planning a new initiative on equality bodies by the end of 2022 and the implementation report on the national anti-racism action plans in early 2023.
To read the draft report: https://aeur.eu/f/3k1
To read the compromise amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/3jb (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)