At its plenary session in Strasbourg on Thursday 18 January, the European Parliament adopted a report on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union for the years 2022 and 2023. Spearheaded by German MEP Katarina Barley (S&D), the report was approved by a significant majority of 391 votes to 130, with 20 abstentions.
The text covers a wide range of issues, including media freedom, corruption, restrictions on civil liberties, police violence and discrimination against various vulnerable groups. It also proposes concrete measures to resolve these problems, reflecting Parliament’s desire to strengthen fundamental rights in the Union.
Highlights of the report include the call for justice in cases of the murder of journalists and support for new European legislation on media freedom (see EUROPE 13315/6).
MEPs expressed concern about the misuse of spyware, underlining the urgent need for strict regulation of the industry. Specific recommendations were made to countries such as Greece, Hungary, Poland, Spain and Cyprus, asking them to follow the European Parliament’s directives in this respect.
The report also highlights the decline in the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people in several Member States. It strongly condemns gender-based violence and the denial of access to essential services such as safe and legal abortion, taking Poland as an example.
In the case of Hungary, the European Parliament calls on the European Council to assess whether the country has committed serious and persistent breaches of the Union’s values, in accordance with Article 7(2) of the EU Treaty. The report also stresses the urgent need to conclude negotiations on a European directive on combatting violence against women and domestic violence.
Corruption in several EU countries is another major cause for concern. Parliament denounces incidents involving senior officials and politicians, including current and former MEPs.
It calls for full implementation of the European anti-corruption framework and the Whistleblower Protection Directive. An independent Ethics Body at European level is also recommended.
The report addresses as well issues such as threats to freedom of association, expression and assembly, disinformation, the need to ensure artistic freedom, racist and faith-based incidents, police violence against Romani people, violations of the fundamental rights of migrants and refugees, the right of children to equal recognition of parenthood across the EU, the risk of bias embedded in new technologies such as AI, and social, economic and environmental rights.
During the debate preceding the vote on Wednesday 17 January, Katarina Barley stressed the importance of these fundamental rights, pointing out that the European Union is an area of democracy, law and freedom.
She stressed that fundamental values are currently under pressure in many Member States. Ms Barley also spoke of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine, while warning against the misuse of crises to restrict fundamental rights.
Didier Reynders, the European Commissioner for Justice, also took the floor, underlining the Commission’s commitment to using all the instruments at its disposal to ensure respect for the EU’s fundamental values.
He mentioned the importance of the annual Rule of Law Report, which now includes country-specific recommendations, and addresses the rise in hate crimes and hate speech.
To read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/agc (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)