Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on countering transnational repression – towards an EU strategy to protect Europe’s sovereignty and democratic values

(2025/2179(INI))

The European Parliament,

Changed– having regard to the foundingArticle values2 of the Treaty on European UnionUnion, which enshrines the EU’s founding values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights,

Removed– having regard to the increasing acts of transnational repression, and to the responsibility of Member States to protect all people residing within their territory,

– having regard to the Treaty on European Union, in particular Articles 3 and 21 thereof,

Added– having regard to the increasing acts of transnational repression, and to the responsibility of Member States to protect all people residing within their territory,

Added– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in particular Articles 83 and 215 thereof,

Changed– having regard to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) of 1998,

– having regard to the UN Human Rights Council resolutions of 4 April 2025 entitled ‘Human rights defenders and new and emerging technologies: protecting human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, in the digital age’ and of 1 July 2025 entitled ‘Civil society space’,

– having regard to the brief of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on transnational repression, published on 18 June 2025,

Changed– having regard to the ‘Guiding Principles onstatement Businessof and13 HumanJanuary Rights:2025 Implementingby the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework’UN endorsedHigh inCommissioner UNfor Human Rights Councilon Resolutionimproving 17/4protection offor 16human Junerights 2011,defenders,

Added– having regard to the annual report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General ‘A/HRC/60/62: Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights - Report of the Secretary General’ of September 2025,

Added– having regard to the ‘Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework’ endorsed in UN Human Rights Council Resolution 17/4 of 16 June 2011,

Added– having regard to the statement by a group of independent UN human rights experts, expressing concern about the proliferation of trials in absentia in Belarus, published on 22 January 2025,

Added– having regard to the preliminary examination conducted by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court into the situation in the Republic of Lithuania / Republic of Belarus (ICC-01/24-1),

– having regard to the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, adopted in June 2004 and updated in 2008, and to its resolution of 16 March 2023 on the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders,

Changed– having regard to the Council conclusions of 27 January 2025 on EU‘EU Priorities in UN Human Rights Fora in 2025,2025’,

Added– having regard to the Council conclusions of 30 January 2026 on ‘EU Priorities in UN Human Rights Fora in 2026’,

– having regard to the EU action plan on human rights and democracy 2020-2024, extended until 2027,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act),

Changed– having regard to Directive (EU) 2024/1760 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on corporate sustainability due diligence and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and Regulation (EU) 2023/2859,2023/2859 (Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence),

Changed– having regard to the 2024 and 2025 EU Annual ReportReports on Human Rights and Democracy in the World,

▸5 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to the Commission communication of 12 November 2025 entitled ‘EU Strategy for Civil Society’ (COM(2025)0790),

– having regard to its recommendation of 15 June 2023 to the Council and the Commission following 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 the joint communication of the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 12 November 2025 entitled ‘European Democracy Shield: Empowering Strong and Resilient Democracies’ (JOIN(2025)0791),

– having regard to the joint communication of the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 5 June 2025 entitled ‘An International Digital Strategy for the European Union’ (JOIN(2025)0140),

– having regard to its resolution of 13 November 2025 on addressing transnational repression of human rights defenders,

Changed– having regard to its resolution of 2221 OctoberJanuary 20252026 on addressing impunity through EU sanctions, including the situationEU inGlobal Belarus,Human fiveRights yearsSanctions afterRegime the(so-called fraudulent‘EU presidentialMagnitsky elections,Act’),

Added– having regard to its resolution of 9 March 2022 on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation,

Added– having regard to its resolution of 1 June 2023 on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation,

Added– having regard to the work of its special committee on the European Democracy Shield,

Added– having regard to the Constitution of the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO-Interpol), in particular Article 2, which requires the organisation to act in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

▸4 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to the G7 Leaders’ statement on transnational repression of 17 June 2025 and the G7 multistakeholder dialogue on transnational repression held in February 2025,

– having regard to the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting communiqué of 19 April 2024 on ‘addressing global challenges, fostering partnerships’,

– having regard to Resolution 2509 (2023) and Recommendation 2257 (2023) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe entitled ‘Transnational repression as a growing threat to the rule of law and human rights’,

– having regard to the study of its Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union of June 2025 entitled ‘Transnational repression of human rights defenders: The impacts on civic space and the responsibility of host states’,

Changed– having regard to the study of its Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union of January 2026 entitled ‘Perpetrators and methods of transnational repression and possible counter-strategies’,counter strategies’,

Changed– having regard to the Seventhseventh Reportreport of Session 2024-25 of the Joint Committee on Human Rights of the Parliament of the United Kingdom,Kingdom entitled ‘Transnational repression in the UK’,

– having regard to the annual report published by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior in June 2025 entitled ‘Verfassungsschutzbericht 2024’,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

Changed– having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A10-0000/2025),(A10-0142/2026),

Change 1

ChangedA. whereas transnational repression (TNR) is a deliberatedeliberate, practicesystematic, targeted and repressive practice, whereby statesregimes or their proxies reach beyondacross borders and perpetrate acts outside their bordersterritorial jurisdiction to intimidate, threaten, silence, coercecoerce, control or harm in any other way individuals or groups residing abroad, thusor underminingfamily fundamentalmembers humanor rights,their democraticsupport participation,networks theby ruleusing a broad range of lawphysical, psychological, digital, legal, administrative and theother sovereigntymeans, in violation of hostfundamental states;rights; whereas targets of TNR include thousands of pro-democracy figures forced to flee their countries of origin due to domestic repression;

Change 2

RemovedEstablishing a common EU understanding of TNR

AddedB. whereas the EU is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights;

Removed1. Considers TNR to constitute a serious human rights violation, and a form of foreign interference and, in certain cases, a type of hybrid threat, undermining democratic governance, the rule of law, fundamental rights and the sovereignty and security of host states;

AddedC. whereas TNR undermines these founding values, contributes to the manipulation of public debate and violates fundamental rights and international law, as well as the EU’s and Member States’ sovereignty and security; whereas increased human rights violations in the countries of origin often go hand in hand with increased TNR activity abroad;

Removed2. Calls on the Commission, the Council and Member States to adopt a common EU definition of TNR based on the definition set out in this report;

AddedD. whereas TNR committed on territories of EU Member States is part of a broader strategy of foreign interference aimed at weakening democratic institutions and societies and directly interferes with the Union’s internal democratic space by silencing voices, fragmenting communities and generating fear and self-censorship, while also undermining the EU’s external action by restricting the ability of individuals residing in the EU to advocate for democracy, human rights and accountability in non-EU countries;

Removed3. Defines TNR as deliberate acts or threats carried out by states, including repressive or authoritarian governments and their proxies, to advance their interests by reaching across borders to intimidate, silence, coerce or harm individuals or groups living abroad;

AddedE. whereas TNR may constitute a crime against humanity within the meaning of Article 7(h) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, taking into account the systematic and widespread nature of such acts;

Removed4. Notes that targets of TNR include dissidents, political opponents, academics, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, and their support networks as well as their family members;

AddedF. whereas everyone residing in the EU, irrespective of their ethnic or national origin, enjoys equal rights and protections under EU law, including those guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; whereas the individual rights of everyone residing in the EU must be safeguarded and upheld by the competent national and EU authorities; whereas TNR requires specific, victim-centred responses to close existing protection gaps; whereas treating TNR primarily as a security or foreign interference issue risks obscuring its other dimensions, limiting the effectiveness of the response and leaving persons and communities affected by TNR insufficiently protected;

Removed5. Underlines that TNR encompasses a wide range of tactics, including:

AddedG. whereas foreign actors have carried out TNR against individuals and groups residing in EU Member States; whereas Member States are affected by TNR to differing degrees and demonstrate varying levels of awareness, institutional preparedness and availability of protection mechanisms; whereas perpetrators operate across borders and exploit such divergences between national legal and institutional frameworks, thereby reducing the effectiveness of isolated national responses;

Removed(1) physical TNR;

AddedH. whereas TNR cuts across multiple policy domains and therefore demands additional coordination; whereas TNR tactics often exploit grey zones between agencies and departments;