Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Added67. Urges the Commission and the Member States to take the necessary measures to fight hate speech and hate crime, both offline and online, especially where such conduct can escalate into violence, including gender-based violence; further stresses the importance of putting in place EU legislation to combat hate crimes and hate speech, including on grounds such as gender identity and sexual orientation; encourages the Commission to follow up on the LGBTIQ+ equality strategy 2026-2030; welcomes the Commission’s initiative to expand the list of EU crimes under Article 83(1) TFEU to include hate speech and hate crime, highlighting the need to ensure a robust EU criminal law response in this regard;

Added68. Urges the Council to extend the current list of ‘EU crimes’ under Article 83(1) TFEU to include hate speech and hate crime; calls on the Council to activate the ‘passerelle clause’ in this regard; calls on the Commission to be ready to initiate the second stage of the procedure and propose a directive aimed at combatting hate speech and hate crimes both offline and online, and to take into account Parliament’s position in this regard;

Added69. Calls on the Commission to promote comprehensive, age-appropriate sexuality and relationship education in schools to counter gender-related misinformation and disinformation and to address gender stereotypes;

Added70. Emphasises that the lack of, or the denial of, access to SRHR, including safe and legal abortion, is a form of gender-based violence and a violation of human and fundamental rights; urges the Commission to actively work towards ensuring broad accessibility to SRHR; reiterates its call for the inclusion of the right to safe and legal abortion in the Charter;

Added71. Urges the Commission to ensure a proper follow-up to the ‘My Voice My Choice: For Safe And Accessible Abortion’ European Citizens’ Initiative and to put forward a proposal for a financial mechanism to support Member States willing to provide safe sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including safe and legal abortion, for those in the EU who still lack access to such services;72. Stresses that there is still no EU-wide definition of rape based on the lack of consent; calls on the Member States to ensure that there is no assumption in law nor in practice that consent is given where there is absence of physical resistance to sexual conduct, regardless of whether the perpetrator threatened or used physical violence or whether the victim is in an intimate relationship with, or married to, the perpetrator; further urges the Member States that have not yet done so to include in their national legislation a definition of rape based on the absence of freely given consent, in line with the Istanbul Convention and evolving international standards; calls on the Commission to put forward a proposal for such a definition at EU level; reiterates that sexual violence, including rape, is a grave violation of human rights and human dignity;

Added73. Urges the Member States to formally recognise feminicide as a distinct gender-based crime in national legislation, to adopt and enforce comprehensive strategies to prevent and combat it, to ensure effective investigation and prosecution of all cases, and to provide specialised shelters, counselling and compensation mechanisms for victims’ relatives;

Added74. Condemns in the strongest terms the use of rape and other forms of sexual violence as a weapon of war, and recalls that such conduct can amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity under international law; urges the strengthening of international efforts to document these crimes, and emphasises the importance of ensuring access to safe and legal abortion for victims of sexual violence, including victims of rape in the context of war;

Added75. Calls on all Member States to ratify the Istanbul Convention; expresses deep concern over the Member States that have not yet ratified it and over any withdrawals from the Istanbul Convention; underlines that such developments are the result of a prolonged disinformation campaign on the Convention’s scope and aims by anti-democratic forces across the EU;

AddedPrisoners and conditions of detention

Added76. Recalls that the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, set out in Article 4 of the Charter and Article 3 of the ECHR, is absolute and non-derogable, and fully applies to all persons, including those deprived of liberty; urges the Member States to guarantee that the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and national preventive mechanisms can conduct unrestricted visits to all places of detention and that their recommendations are fully implemented;

Added77. Notes with concern that, in some Member States, pre-trial detention is used excessively or without sufficient justification; urges the Member States to ensure that deprivation of liberty before trial is applied only as a last resort, in full compliance with ECHR standards and the presumption of innocence, and to strengthen judicial oversight and the periodic review of detention decisions;

Added78. Strongly condemns systematic overcrowding, the lack of medical care and the unlawful prolonging of pre-trial detention; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure full compliance with the Nelson Mandela Rules, the UN Convention against Torture and its Optional Protocol and the European Prison Rules by improving detention conditions in all prisons and adopting preventive and rehabilitative measures, including in juvenile facilities, as well as by tackling overcrowding, ensuring access to healthcare and psychological support and strengthening suicide prevention measures; stresses that the protection of human dignity is a measure of society’s democratic strength;

Added79. Calls on the Commission to address serious violations in prisons, in line with the EU’s obligation to uphold the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU;

Civil society under threat

Change 6

Removed22. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure and promote the engagement and effective participation of citizens and CSOs in policymaking;

Added80. Recalls that, according to Article 11(2) TEU, the EU institutions must maintain an open, transparent and structured dialogue with CSOs and representative associations; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure effective consultation processes in line with good governance standards, to promote the engagement and effective participation of citizens and CSOs in policymaking, including in matters related to the protection and promotion of fundamental rights, and to support their capacity to participate in EU policies, while ensuring transparency and full compliance with applicable rules;

Removed23. Calls on the Commission to guarantee that the upcoming EU civil society strategy supports, protects and empowers CSOs and HRDs protecting and promoting EU values and to set up a rapid response mechanism in the EU to support them;

Added81. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure sustainable, flexible and accessible funding for CSOs and access to justice;

Removed24. Strongly condemns the continuous criminalisation of solidarity and urges the Member States to refrain from doing so;

Added82. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal, in the context of the next MFF, to enable the redistribution of frozen funds to CSOs, and stresses the need to guarantee that a share of such resources can support organisations working to promote fundamental rights and other EU values in Member States where funds remain frozen; recalls the importance of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme in protecting and promoting the rights and values enshrined in the Treaties, the Charter and the applicable international human rights conventions, in particular by supporting CSOs and encouraging civic and democratic participation, in order to sustain and further develop open, rights-based, democratic, equal and inclusive societies; considers that the new AgoraEU programme must safeguard at least the same level of ambition as the CERV programme;

Removed25. Urges the Commission and the Member States to guarantee that people can exercise their right to peaceful assembly and to refrain from putting forward any initiative that can have a chilling effect on the civic space;

Added83. Welcomes the Commission’s EU strategy for civil society; further welcomes the fact that the strategy is focused on CSOs and HRDs, and includes actions such as strengthening effective and meaningful engagement with civil society, ensuring an open, safe and enabling civic space by providing support and protection, including the reduction of administrative burdens for CSOs on the ground, and supporting CSOs with adequate, sustainable and transparent funding; urges the Commission to ensure the full implementation of the strategy and to systematically monitor the situation of civic space in its rule of law reports;

Added84. Expresses deep concern about the continued shrinking civic space and the increasing persecution of CSOs and HRDs in several Member States, particularly those working in the areas of anti-racism, climate justice, LGBTIQ+ rights, women’s rights and migration; notes that these groups face a range of threats, including legal and financial restrictions, funding suspensions, smear campaigns, intimidation and criminalisation; regrets that restrictions on the freedoms of assembly, expression and association often disproportionately affect specific groups or causes;

Added85. Stresses that the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of association and expression, and freedom of the arts and sciences are fundamental rights protected by international and EU law and are essential for democracy; underlines that freedom of association, as guaranteed by Article 12 of the Charter and Article 11 of the ECHR, is a cornerstone of a democratic society;

Added86. Condemns the criminalisation of humanitarian workers and activists; encourages the Member States to ensure that humanitarian assistance provided to vulnerable persons is not criminalised; recalls that EU legislation must be aligned with European and international human rights standards, and calls on the Commission and the Member States to address the situations where such alignment is lacking;

Added87. Notes with concern that several Member States and candidate and potential candidate countries have imposed disproportionate measures on humanitarian workers and activists; strongly condemns the use of ‘foreign agent laws’, which stifle dissent, target CSOs and restrict their operations, creating a chilling effect on civil society and HRDs; condemns the disproportionate measures in some Member States against peaceful demonstrations, including pre-emptive bans, the use of excessive force and the detention of protesters, with chilling effects; calls on the Member States to refrain from disproportionate legal action against those taking part in peaceful demonstrations;

Added88. Urges the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the right to peaceful assembly can be exercised, to refrain from proposing or implementing measures that could have a chilling effect on civic space, noting with concern that such attempts have been observed in some Member States, and to facilitate healthy debate on any issue of public concern; condemns any practice that has a chilling effect on peaceful demonstrations, such as the use of excessive force, surveillance and judicial harassment;

Added89. Calls on the Commission to set up a rapid response mechanism in the EU to support threatened CSOs and HRDs that protect and promote EU values; calls on the Commission to establish a European civic space index to monitor and report annually on the enabling environment for civil society; further calls for the transparency of funding for all actors in the EU Transparency Register;

Added90. Urges the Member States to implement Commission Recommendation (EU) 2022/758 on protecting journalists and human rights defenders who engage in public participation;

Structural racism and discrimination

Change 7

Removed26. Reiterates its calls to unblock the Horizontal Anti-Discrimination Directive;

Added91. Recalls that the EU Treaties and the Charter enshrine the EU’s mandate and responsibility for combating discrimination and for promoting equal treatment for all; calls on the Commission to address the gaps in the EU anti-discrimination framework and urges the Member States to fully and properly implement existing EU anti-discrimination legislation;

Removed27. Calls on the Commission to present ambitious equality and anti-racism strategies;

Added92. Welcomes the Commission’s decision to reverse the withdrawal of the proposed Horizontal Anti-Discrimination Directive; reiterates its calls to unblock the discussions in the Council on the directive without delay and urges Member States to conclude an agreement thereon;

Removed28. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to tackle xenophobia, racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and other forms of prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and hatred against vulnerable people;

Added93. Recognises and condemns the existence of structural racism in the EU, driven by stereotypes fostered by public discourse, which result in discrimination against minorities in all areas of their lives; is deeply concerned by individual, structural and institutional forms of racism and xenophobia in the EU and rising discrimination against Arabs, Black Europeans, people of Asian descent, Jewish people, Muslims and Roma people; urges the Member States to combat discrimination at all levels;

Removed29. Urges the Member States, in particular Hungary and Slovakia, to review laws that discriminate against LGBTIQ+ persons and rainbow families and to refrain from putting forward any initiative that risks undermining the rights of LGBTIQ+ people, including the so-called anti-LGBTI propaganda laws, and to ban conversion therapies;

Added94. Stresses the need to fight against all forms of discrimination before the law; expresses its concern over the lack of progress in, and implementation of, equality and anti-discrimination legislation in some Member States; regrets the fact that, despite existing EU legislation such as Directive 2000/78/EC on equal treatment, gaps in the legal framework, implementation and enforcement persist, leaving victims without adequate legal remedies; recalls that Member States’ legal frameworks must enshrine the principle of equal treatment within their legal systems and ensure effective access to justice for all individuals; calls on the Commission to act in cases of non-compliance with these principles;

Removed30. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to address discrimination and social exclusion faced by Roma and persons with disabilities;

Added95. Underlines that access to EU funds should be conditional on full compliance with fundamental rights, including the principle of non-discrimination, and calls for transparent earmarking to guarantee long-term support for human rights and equality-focused CSOs;

RemovedEnvironmental, social and economic rights at risk

Added96. Urges the Member States, in particular Hungary, to review any laws or policies that discriminate against LGBTIQ+ persons and rainbow families; calls on Hungary to ensure that national constitutional and legislative frameworks cannot be misused to undermine the primacy of EU law or to stigmatise minorities under the pretext of ‘national identity’; strongly condemns the continued application of the so-called child-protection law in Hungary, which constitutes direct discrimination contrary to Articles 7, 11, 21 and 24 of the Charter; calls on the Commission to urgently assess the compatibility of Hungary’s law on the protection of local identity with EU law, in particular the Racial Equality Directive and the Charter;

Removed31. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure an adequate standard of living and healthy environment for all, including access to housing, quality education, social security and healthcare;

Added97. Calls on the Commission to take all necessary measures, including the launch of infringement procedures, where breaches are identified; calls on the Member States to ensure that local housing and residence policies fully comply with the principles of equality and non-discrimination and do not result in ethnic or socio-economic segregation;

Added98. Underlines that the primacy of EU law constitutes the cornerstone of the functioning of the Union and of respect for the rule of law across Member States, to which all Member States commit upon accession; urges all Member States to comply with the current case-law of the CJEU and the ECtHR; calls on the Commission to carefully monitor the implementation by Member States of judgments delivered by the CJEU and the ECtHR, with particular attention to judgments concerning non-discrimination, gender equality and the rights of minorities;

Added99. Calls on the Commission to present new ambitious equality and anti-racism strategies for the upcoming years, which also include Parliament’s recommendations, in order to address discrimination comprehensively across all grounds and areas of life; highlights the need to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach across all existing and forthcoming strategies, frameworks and action plans in order to maximise synergies and ensure coherence in their implementation;

Added100. Calls on all Member States to adopt and fully implement national action plans against racism or strategies with ambitious standards, including clear targets, timelines and budgets; calls on the Commission to ensure regular monitoring mechanisms, in cooperation with civil society;

Added101. Underlines that third-country nationals in the EU, regardless of their nationality, place of birth or residence status, must be treated in a non-discriminatory manner; points out that third-country nationals have the right to apply for international protection under international and EU law, including in accordance with the principle of non-refoulement; calls on the Commission to support the Member States in upholding the rule of law and the fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter and in implementing the legislation adopted by the co-legislators; stresses the binding nature of the rulings of the CJEU and the ECtHR;

Added102. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to prohibit racial profiling and other discriminatory practices, including at borders, to allocate substantial resources to inclusion- and rights-based initiatives and to establish independent monitoring, accountability and complaint mechanisms; calls on the Commission to establish binding human rights and equality impact assessments to prevent algorithmic discrimination; further calls on the Commission and the Member States to address the disproportionate exposure of racialised communities to pollution, environmental degradation and climate-related risks;

Added103. Calls on the Member States to establish national human rights institutions, in accordance with the UN Paris Principles, to guarantee their independence and their capacity to carry out their tasks effectively, and to provide safeguards against political interference;

Added104. Calls on Member States to fully implement Directive 2024/1500 and Directive 2024/1499, which establish minimum standards for Equality Bodies; calls for concrete measures to guarantee the independence of equality bodies and to ensure their effectiveness in promoting equality; encourages support for CSOs in developing and disseminating educational initiatives to promote equality and in ensuring broad outreach and accessibility;105. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take effective action against antisemitism, xenophobia, racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and any other form of prejudice, intolerance, discrimination or hate crime in a holistic manner; further calls for sustained efforts at both EU and national levels to monitor, prevent and prosecute related hate crimes and to protect minorities;

Added106. Notes with concern the findings of the FRA, which indicate a significant rise in antisemitism across the Union, including online, in public spaces and within local communities; stresses that many Jewish individuals report obstacles to openly expressing their identity and continue to face safety concerns; urges the Commission and the Member States to strengthen prevention, reporting and victim support mechanisms, to accelerate the implementation EU strategy on combatting antisemitism and ensure full enforcement of EU and national law, and to enhance education, awareness-raising and security measures where needed; strongly condemns the rising levels of antisemitism across the EU;

Added107. Is worried that some policies adopted in some Member States have led to discrimination against certain groups, including those defined by race, colour, ethnic origin, language, religion, disability or sexual orientation; denounces the fact that the effects of such policies include discriminatory legal and law enforcement practices, as well as the delegitimising – and in some instances the criminalising or attempted criminalising – of political, religious and other forms of discourse; calls on the Member States to refrain from such practices or from adopting policies and legislation that could lead to such consequences for these groups;

Added108. Strongly condemns any form of discrimination and hostility against religious communities, including Islamophobia, and all other forms of discrimination and racism across the EU, including acts of violence, intimidation, hate speech and the display of hate symbols in public spaces; calls on the Member States and candidate countries to make sure that members of all minorities are treated equally before the law;

Added109. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to address the discrimination and social exclusion faced by vulnerable groups, including Roma, and to ensure the effective implementation of the EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation; urges the Member States to implement the judgments of the ECtHR concerning the rights of Roma people, and calls on the Commission to monitor their implementation;

Added110. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to combat discrimination against persons with disabilities and to promote their full inclusion and participation in society; further calls on the EU and the Member States to follow the recommendations of the CRPD to end discrimination against all persons with disabilities and to ensure their equal enjoyment of fundamental rights and full participation in all areas of society;

Added111. Condemns all forms of violence and coercion against persons with disabilities, particularly forced sterilisation, which constitutes a grave violation of human dignity and bodily integrity; calls on the Commission and the Member States to criminalise forced sterilisation based on disability or legal capacity without exception and to provide reparation to survivors; calls for an EU action plan on equality and intersectionality; urges the recognition and inclusion of national sign languages as part of the EU’s linguistic diversity;

Added112. Calls for the reinforcement of the EU Disability Platform as the permanent participatory mechanism for policy dialogue with organisations of persons with disabilities; requests that the Commission maintain a transparent monitoring framework for the EU strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021-2030, with annual public reporting and meaningful involvement of civil society; stresses that the EU institutions must lead by example by ensuring accessibility, inclusive recruitment and a significant increase in staff with disabilities within the EU administration; supports the implementation of a disability action plan in EU external action, ensuring that the EU’s development and humanitarian programmes fully integrate the rights of persons with disabilities, in line with Article 32 of the CRPD;

AddedProtecting social and economic rights and addressing environmental impacts

Added113. Calls on the Commission to ensure that EU funds dedicated to promoting social inclusion and improving living standards – including access to affordable housing, quality education, social security and healthcare – are used effectively and transparently; expresses concern about recent cases of misuse of funds;