In its annual report on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, published on Tuesday 6 December, the European Commission calls on the EU institutions and Member States to strengthen support for civil society organisations and human rights defenders.
Despite improved support and protection measures by Member States, the report notes that 61% of organisations say they face difficulties in operating, while 43% say they are subject to verbal (including online) or physical attacks.
The same is true for funding: although European countries have recently increased their financial support, particularly to compensate for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the lack of funds remains a major challenge for almost half of the human rights organisations.
Finally, the latter deplore a series of obstacles preventing them from being fully included in the development of legislation at national level, denouncing in particular limited access to documents and information, or more broadly, a lack of civil dialogue.
In its report, the European Commission mentions the importance of civil society organisations, especially in times of crisis. It also highlights a series of European proposals that aim to improve their working environment, such as the Media Freedom Act (see EUROPE 13069/23) or the Directive to combat SLAPPs (see EUROPE 13037/21). It adds that the EU budget for 2021-2027 also makes €1.55 billion available for fundamental rights organisations.
Finally, the institution commits to a “structured dialogue” with stakeholders on how the EU can develop its role in protecting and supporting organisations. The results of this dialogue will be reported in 2023 at a “high-level round table”.
This annual report is part of the Commission’s strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter (see EUROPE 12614/27).
To read the 2022 edition: https://aeur.eu/f/4i4 (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)