Otsing
Hate speech and hate crime targeting LGBTI people
Hate speech and hate crime are incompatible with the European Union's common values and fundamental rights, as enshrined in the European Union (EU) Treaties and in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. EU law criminalises hate speech and hate crime, but only if it is related to a limited set of characteristics, namely: race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin. Legislative developments, case-law and policy initiatives have helped to create more equal and welcoming societies – including ...
Mis- and disinformation on social media and related risks to election integrity
Under the EU's landmark Digital Services Act (DSA), large social media platforms have pledged to take greater responsibility for curbing harmful and deceptive content. Despite this, information manipulation campaigns continue to unfold. On 6 December, Romania became the first EU country to cancel an election over foreign interference, following reports about information manipulation on TikTok. During the December 2024 plenary session, the Commission is due to make a statement on mis- and disinformation ...
Common approach on return policy
An effective return policy to remove from the EU third-country nationals who do not have the right to stay on EU territory requires common rules and procedures in the EU Member States. These must be implemented in accordance with fundamental rights obligations and with the principle of non refoulement. A robust framework for cooperation with third countries that are willing to accept returnees is also necessary Efforts to increase the number of returns have been a feature of EU migration policy for ...
Confirmation hearings of the Commissioners-designate: Michael McGrath – Democracy, Justice and Rule of Law
Michael McGrath (born in 1976), is an Irish politician, a member of the Fianna Fáil party, which belongs to the Renew Europe group in the European Ϸվ. He holds a bachelor's degree in commerce from University College Cork (1997). Most recently, he was minister for finance (2022-2024) and before that, minister for public expenditure and reform (2020-2022). McGrath has been a member of the lower house of the Irish Ϸվ (the Oireachtas) for the Cork South-Central constituency since 2007 ...
Regulation 1049/2001 on the right of access to documents, including the digital context
Upon request of the Committee on Petitions (PETI), the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs commissioned the present study on Regulation 1049/2001 on access to documents with a twofold objective. First, to update the analysis conducted in a 2016 study for the PETI Committee with the latest developments in the case law of the CJEU and the activities led by the European Ombudsman since then – in particular focussing on access to legislative documents, documents relating ...
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 3.2 million, became independent from the former Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992, following a referendum that was boycotted by ethnic Serbs. Bosnia and Herzegovina was offered a European Union membership perspective at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Thessaloniki in 2003. Building on the European Commission's recommendation of 12 March 2024, the European Council decided on 21 March to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina. This 'At a glance ...
Social and youth housing in the EU
Access to housing in the EU has become problematic in recent years. Demography and urbanisation-related structural factors, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, soaring energy prices, the cost-of-living crisis and (already high) housing prices that keep rising are preventing many people from accessing decent housing solutions. The lack of affordable housing supply only adds to this situation. These difficulties affect not only low- but now also middle-income households, as ...
The situation of Article 2 TEU values in Estonia
This briefing, written by the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the European Ϸվ's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs - Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group, examines the situation of Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights in Estonia and how the values of Article 2 of the TEU are respected and implemented in the country.
The global reach of the EU's approach to digital transformation
The EU's approach to digital transformation is rooted in protecting fundamental rights, sustainability, ethics and fairness. With this human-centric vision of the digital economy and society, the EU seeks to empower citizens and businesses, regardless of their size. In the EU's view, the internet should remain open, fair, inclusive and focused on people. Digital technologies should work for citizens and help them to engage in society. Companies should be able to compete on equal terms, and consumers ...
Extraterritorial processing of asylum claims
In the past decade, continuous migration and asylum pressure on European Union Member States has made the external dimension of the EU's approach to migration management all the more important. The need to address challenges relating to external border management has reoriented EU migration policy towards extended and stricter border controls, combined with the externalisation of migration management through cooperation with third countries. In this context, the external processing of asylum claims ...