Unlocking the full potential of the European Union Charter of fundamental rights

06/09/2024

Statement

European Union

How liberties and other human rights groups want to ensure effective litigation strategies for the coming European Union (EU) cycle. The Charter of Fundamental Rights (Charter) is a powerful tool for the protection of rights across the European Union. However, despite its robust framework, implementation is hampered by a lack of transparency and a failure to deploy all available tools. This, coupled with the European Commission’s slow and cautious approach, threatens accountability and puts its role as the guardian of the treaties at stake.

September 6th, 2024- During the last legislative cycle, there were some important developments. In a landmark judgment in the Commission v Hungary (C78/18), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) highlighted the discriminatory nature of Hungary’s 2017 NGO law and found a violation of a number of rights, including the right to freedom of association.

Further rights-based cases followed, including a pending case on LGTBQI+ rights and, under the new financial framework, the European Commission launched a novel funding stream, dedicated to enhancing skills and knowledge in litigating Charter rights.

With the start of a new legislative term this is a critical moment to build on these cases and more effectively utilise the Charter for the protection of rights. This requires a concerted strategy from monitoring, through complaints to infringement proceedings to litigation and the execution of judgments- and needs to be under-pinned by funding for strategic litigation.