Changes from plenary report to adopted text

– having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2022 on the US Supreme Court decision to overturn abortion rights in the United States and the need to safeguard abortion rights and women’s health in the EU,

– having regard to its resolution of 3 May 2022 on the persecution of minorities on the grounds of belief or religion,

– having regard to its resolution of 5 May 2022 on ongoing hearings under Article 7(1) TEU regarding Poland and Hungary,

– having regard to its Decision (EU) 2023/325 of 18 October 2022 on discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) for the financial year 2020,

– having regard to its resolution of 20 October 2022 on growing hate crimes against LGBTIQ+ people across Europe in light of the recent homophobic murder in Slovakia,

– 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 13 December 2022 towards equal rights for persons with disabilities,

– having regard to its resolution of 19 April 2023 on combating discrimination in the EU – the long-awaited horizontal anti-discrimination directive,

– having regard to its position of 10 May 2023 on the draft Council decisions on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence with regards to institutions and public administration of the Union, as well as with regard to matters related to judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non-refoulement,

– having regard to its resolution of 11 May 2023 on the adequacy of the protection afforded by the EU-US Data Privacy Framework,

– having regard to its report and recommendation of 22 May 2023 on the investigation of alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware,

– having regard to its resolution of 1 June 2023 on the breaches of the Rule of Law and fundamental rights in Hungary and frozen EU funds,

– having regard to its resolution of 13 July 2023 on public access to documents – annual report for the years 2019-2021,

– having regard to its resolution of 4 October 2023 on the segregation and discrimination of Roma children in education,

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A9-0376/2023),

A. whereas the EU is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, as set out in Article 2 TEU and the Charter, and embedded in international human rights treaties; whereas these values should be shared and upheld and actively promoted by the EU and the Member States in their internal and external action; whereas, in recent years, some Member States have shown a worrying decline in respect for these values;

B. whereas democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are mutually reinforcing values, which, when undermined, pose a systemic threat to the Union and the rights and freedoms of all people in the EU; whereas respect for the rule of law is binding on the Union as a whole and its Member States at all levels of governance;

C. whereas free, independent and transparent elections are a pillar of democracy;

D. whereas the increasing spread of disinformation poses a threat to the democratic functioning of the Union; whereas reducing the manipulation of information is a matter of public interest; whereas disinformation reduces the ability of EU citizens and residents to make fact-based decisions and participate freely in democratic processes; whereas independent and pluralistic media are a powerful tool in fighting disinformation;

E. whereas media freedom, pluralism and the independence and safety of journalists are crucial components of the right to freedom of expression and information, and are essential to the democratic functioning of the EU and its Member States; whereas, in recent years, journalists and other media actors in many Member States and abroad have been increasingly subject to threats, undue pressure, intimidation, violence and other forms of interference with their work, particularly when focusing on the misuse of power, corruption, fundamental rights violations and criminal activities; whereas SLAPPs remain a pressing issue across the EU; whereas the alarming situation as regards threats and attacks is not exclusively limited to professional journalists and other traditional media actors; whereas the definition of media actors has expanded as a result of new forms of media in the digital age and therefore includes others who contribute to public debate and perform journalistic activities or fulfil public watchdog functions;

F. whereas government bodies in some Member States and non-EU countries have used Pegasus and other surveillance spyware against journalists, politicians, law enforcement officials, diplomats, lawyers, business people, civil society actors and other actors, for political and even criminal purposes; whereas such practices are extremely alarming and underscore the risk of the abuse of surveillance technologies to undermine fundamental human rights, democracy and electoral processes;

G. whereas corruption is a serious threat to democracy and the rule of law; whereas there are persistent and serious concerns about the fight against corruption in some Member States; whereas the mechanisms to stop corruption are weak in several Member States and the lack of protection given to whistleblowers continues to be a widespread deficiency; whereas the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation aims to protect the Union budget against breaches of rule of law principles;

H. whereas journalists, media outlets and bloggers, human rights defenders, civil society organisations (CSOs), activists, trade unions, artists, researchers, whistleblowers, and politicians increasingly face threats, harassment and other forms of intimidation as a result of their engagement in public participation;

I. whereas the independence of the judiciary – an essential requirement for the democratic principle of separation of powers and central to guaranteeing respect for fundamental rights – is facing serious threats and is even being structurally undermined in an increasing number of Member States;

J. whereas the Court of Justice recalled that the right to freedom of association, enshrined in Article 12(1) of the Charter, is one of the essential bases of a democratic and pluralist society, as it allows people in the EU to act collectively in fields of mutual interest and, in doing so, to contribute to the proper functioning of public life; whereas increasing attacks against the right to assembly and association through the disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters, including the beating of protesters, have been reported in some Member States;

K. whereas some Member States have imposed restrictions with the deliberate aim of limiting civic space; whereas the civic space in many Member States faces legal, administrative and fiscal harassment, criminalisation and negative rhetoric aimed at stigmatising and delegitimising CSOs, activists and human rights defenders and diminishing their capacity to carry out their work;

L. whereas, in March 2023, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights assessed that the situation of human rights defenders in Europe had deteriorated alarmingly, and that governments had an increasing tendency to disregard their human rights commitments, prioritising national security and public safety concerns over human rights; whereas the Commissioner reported increasing restrictions on their ability to work freely and safely, as well as various forms of reprisal, including judicial harassment, prosecution, abusive controls and surveillance, smear campaigns, threats and intimidation in Member States and neighbouring countries; whereas the absence of effective investigations into violations committed by state and non-state actors against human rights defenders remains a major concern; whereas this undermines democracy and is part of a wider problem of polarisation in society, characterised by increasing expressions of hatred and violence against different social or minority groups;

M. whereas there have been multiple incidents of migrant deaths and human rights violations at European borders owing to ineffective management and disproportionate use of force by the authorities; whereas increasing amounts of technology, including artificial intelligence, are being used to monitor migrants at the EU’s external and internal borders; whereas the criminalisation of non-governmental organisations or any other non-state actors that carry out search and rescue operations, while complying with the relevant legal framework, amounts to a breach of international law and therefore is not permitted by EU law; whereas the Court of Justice recalled that non-EU nationals can only be imprisoned when there is a specific legal basis to restrict their right to liberty and not when there is only a general criterion;

N. whereas fatalities at Europe’s sea borders decreased slightly in 2022 compared to 2021, but still remained higher than in the three years prior to 2021; whereas most deaths occurred in the Central Mediterranean, off the North African coast;

O. whereas several reports and investigations have been conducted on Frontex on issues related to fundamental rights, including by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Ombudsman; whereas the former Director of Frontex resigned from his position in April 2022; whereas all EU agencies must comply with fundamental rights and be accountable where there are instances of fundamental rights violations;

P. whereas there has been an organised backlash against women’s and girls’ rights in recent years; whereas, in some Member States, there have been attempts to further roll back on sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as on existing legal protections for women’s access to abortion care; whereas, in recent years, the denial of access to safe and legal abortion in some Member States has led to the death of a number of women; whereas the prevalence of gender-based violence, including sexual violence and rape, remains high across the EU; whereas some Member States have still not ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention); whereas movements against promoting and providing sexuality education are growing in the EU;

Q. whereas gender-based violence is both a cause and a consequence of the structural inequalities that are rooted in gender stereotypes and power asymmetries, including those in the private, social, public and economic sphere;

R. whereas FRA survey data shows that the prevalence of discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin or religious beliefs (including Roma, Muslims, Jewish people and people of African descent) remains consistently high, both over time and across different population groups, in particular individuals from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, in different Member States; whereas racial and ethnic minorities face systemic racism, hate crime and hate speech, a lack of access to justice and sustained socio-economic inequalities in areas such as housing, healthcare, employment and education, which need to be acknowledged as major barriers to the full enjoyment of their fundamental rights and a key barrier to inclusion and equality; whereas antisemitism, anti-gypsyism, islamophobia and racism are persistent forms of hatred and discrimination; whereas far-right extremism poses a particular threat to people affected by discrimination and to society as a whole; whereas, according to FRA, there are indications of systemic racism in the EU, including within law enforcement; whereas intersectional discrimination must be taken into account in policies and measures aimed at combating racism and discrimination;

S. whereas persons with disabilities living in the EU continue to face discrimination, including the denial of reasonable accommodation, harassment and multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination in all areas of their lives, including socio-economic disadvantages, social isolation, maltreatment and violence, including gender-based violence, forced sterilisation and abortion, lack of access to community services, low-quality housing, institutionalisation, inadequate healthcare and denial of the opportunity to contribute to and actively engage in society;

T. whereas a significant portion of Romani people in Europe live in extremely precarious conditions in both rural and urban areas, and in very poor socio-economic circumstances; whereas most Romani people are deprived of their fundamental human rights in all areas of life; whereas the placement of children into segregated schools and the discriminatory practice of placing children of ethnic and racial minorities into schools for children with mental disabilities continue to persist in some Member States;

U. whereas the continuous trend of increasing discrimination, hate speech and violence against LGBTIQ+ people and LGBTIQ+ rights defenders persists across the EU; whereas LGBTIQ+ people still face discrimination and exclusion in several Member States regarding social protection, social security, access to healthcare, education, legal protection and access to and supply of goods and other services that are available to the public, including housing; whereas the case-law of the Court of Justice that protects the social rights and private life of same-sex couples and children born to same-sex parents is not being implemented, such as the ‘Coman case (C-673/16)’ and the ‘Baby Sara case (C-490/20)’; whereas surgeries and medical treatments are being performed on intersex children without their prior, personal, full and informed consent; whereas intersex genital mutilation can have lifelong consequences, such as psychological trauma and physical impairments;

V. whereas incidents of hate crimes and hate speech have steadily increased across the EU over the last few years, largely due to the increasing number of social media users and the fact that hate speech thrives online; whereas the business model of social media platforms, based on micro-targeted advertising, plays a role in spreading and amplifying hate speech, inciting discrimination and violence; whereas education systems are key to providing digital education, literacy and skills for everyone, promoting users’ understanding of digital technologies, overcoming inequalities, improving digital inclusion and empowering and protecting individuals and their rights, while outlining their responsibilities; whereas hate speech can lead to hate crime; whereas, according to the FRA, up to nine in ten hate crimes and hate-motivated attacks in the EU are not reported and are therefore not sanctioned;

W. whereas Article 21 of the Charter prohibits all discrimination based on language or membership of a national minority; whereas Article 22 thereof guarantees respect for linguistic diversity;

X. whereas the EU is based on the promotion of social, cultural and economic rights; whereas the number of people living in poverty in the EU remains high, with more than one in five children at risk of poverty and almost one in four European citizens at risk of poverty or social exclusion; whereas the poverty cycle exacerbates other inequalities such as people’s access to education, affordable housing, healthcare and employment; whereas the energy crisis and inflation have increased the number of people affected by insecurity, poverty and social exclusion; whereas Article 151 TFEU refers to fundamental social rights such as those set out in the European Social Charter; whereas the European Pillar of Social Rights and the implementation of its Action Plan are key instruments to mainstream social priorities across all EU policies and a guide for the actual implementation of its 20 principles;

Y. whereas EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is an obligation under Article 6(2) TEU and remains a high priority;

Z. whereas Member States and EU institutions and bodies, including the Court of Justice, the FRA and the EPPO all have a crucial role to play in upholding EU values and ensuring respect for fundamental rights;

AA. whereas the European Ombudsman conducted an investigation into the exchange of personal texts and calls related to the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines between the Commission President and the Pfizer CEO, which the Commission refused to disclose afterwards; whereas, in July 2022, the Ombudsman found that this refusal constituted maladministration;

AB. whereas, for several years, the rule of law has been deteriorating in several Member States as a result of the systematic actions of their governments, particularly in Hungary and Poland, which have ongoing Article 7(1) TEU procedures against them; whereas rule of law and fundamental rights concerns are rapidly growing in other Member States; whereas it is crucial to ensure that Member States comply with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, including the Venice Commission;

AC. whereas poverty is a form of structural and social injustice, which is grounded in gender inequalities, discrimination and unequal opportunities to access goods and services, leading to the violation of fundamental rights; whereas tackling poverty requires taking an intersectional approach into account and paying particular attention to individuals in vulnerable situations, such as children, women, racialised and ethnic communities, LGBTIQ+ people, migrants and asylum seekers and people with disabilities, as well as individuals from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds;

AD. whereas, according to the report of the European Environment Agency entitled ‘Air quality in Europe 2022’, 238 000 premature deaths resulted from exposure to fine particulate matter air pollution in the Union in 2020 alone;

The rule of law and access to justice

1. Recalls the importance of free media in upholding democracy, holding public and private institutions to account and allowing citizens to access fact-based information; stresses the importance of media pluralism and journalistic freedom; strongly condemns the fact that, in 2022, another global record for the number of imprisoned journalists was set, and calls for the full delivery of justice with regard to the killing of investigative journalists in the EU;

3. Reiterates its concern over the breach of fundamental rights with regard to the use of Pegasus and equivalent spyware to target individuals and high-profile personalities, such as journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders, politicians, or other actors; underlines that the illegitimate use of spyware by national governments directly and indirectly affects the integrity of decision-making, thus undermining EU democracy and highlighting the urgent need for greater transparency and legal accountability in the surveillance industry;

4. Calls on the Member States, in particular Greece, Hungary, Poland, Spain and Cyprus, to follow their respective recommendations from its report on the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware; recalls its recommendations for common EU standards to be followed, as individual rights cannot be put at risk by permitting unfettered access to surveillance;

5. Urges the Member States to draw up national action plans for the safety of journalists, to create a favourable environment for plural and independent media to flourish and to play their essential watchdog role to hold governments and other actors to account;

6. Recalls that the trade in and use of spyware needs to be regulated strictly; underlines that the use of spyware must be authorised only in exceptional and specific cases with respect to investigations into a limited and closed list of clearly and precisely defined serious crimes, be justified on a case-by-case basis, comply with the Charter and other relevant Union law, and be ordered, ex ante, by an independent and impartial judicial authority with effective, known and accessible remedial measures; stresses that all spyware surveillance must be scrutinised by an independent ex post oversight authority, which must ensure that any authorised surveillance is carried out in compliance with fundamental rights and in accordance with the conditions set out by the Court of Justice, the ECtHR and the Venice Commission; insists that individuals targeted with spyware be given access to real and meaningful legal remedy;

7. Stresses that corruption is incompatible with the values of democracy and the rule of law as it deepens inequalities and erodes citizens’ trust in good governance; is deeply concerned by the increasing level of corruption in several Member States, in particular cases involving high-level officials and politicians; reiterates its condemnation of the alleged cases of corruption involving current and former Members of the European Parliament; underlines, in this light, the adoption of the amendments to its Rules of Procedure that aim to strengthen its integrity, independence and accountability; is concerned about the varying levels of implementation of the EU anti-corruption framework in Member States; requests that zero tolerance for corruption must be the rule; calls for the establishment of an independent ethics body; calls on the Member States to ensure the full implementation of the Whistleblower Protection Directive;

8. Stresses that judicial independence and effective checks and balances, which can vary from one Member State to another, are key components of the rule of law; highlights that serious concerns remain as to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in several Member States; condemns any attempts by Member State governments to exert political influence or control over the independent decision-making of the judiciary either directly or by organisational means;

9. Supports the creation of an EU strategy to ensure concrete and coordinated action at EU level, including through the creation of a protection mechanism for human rights defenders in Europe, building on the examples in EU foreign policy, to ensure prevention, direct assistance and accountability;

10. Supports the use of the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the horizontal enabling conditions for the freezing of EU funding to fight corruption and rule of law backsliding in Member States; stresses that funds restricted through different conditionality measures must only be released once key enabling conditions are met; urges the Member States to complete the appropriate measures to reach the milestones set out in their respective recovery and resilience plans; calls on the European Council to take action and to determine whether Hungary has committed serious and persistent breaches of EU values under Article 7(2) TEU; strongly deplores the systematic scapegoating of the LGBTQI+ community by the Hungarian authorities; underlines that the Council shares the responsibility for the protection of the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU and that the failure to do so would have long-lasting and potentially damaging consequences; insists that Parliament’s role and competences be respected;

11. Deplores the fact that some Member States are prolonging state of emergency measures beyond what is necessary and proportionate, and rushing to adopt legislation without proper consultation;

12. Reiterates the imminent need to establish an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights and urges the Commission and the Council to immediately enter into negotiations with Parliament on this agreement;