Mensenrechten moeten worden afgedwongen in de EU vindt EP-commissie burgerlijke vrijheden (en)

To curb human rights abuses within the EU, EU institutions and Member States should devise a comprehensive human rights policy, including direct enforcement and effective EU and national accountability mechanisms, says the Civil Liberties Committee in a report on fundamental rights in the EU, approved on Thursday. The EU must also "maintain coherence between its internal and external human rights policy", MEPs add.

The Lisbon Treaty's entry into force transformed fundamental "basic values" into "concrete rights", by making the Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding, note MEPs in their report, the first since the Treaty took effect. They add that the Charter offers "a good balance between rights and solidarity", and includes civil, political, economic and social rights as well as "third generation" rights (i.e. to good administration, freedom of information, a healthy environment and consumer protection).

Directly-enforceable fundamental rights

Incorporating the Charter into EU primary law "creates new responsibilities for the decision-making and implementing institutions, as well as for Member States when implementing EU legislation at national level", say MEPs, underlining that the Charter's provisions have become directly enforceable by European and national courts. The EU should, moreover, "develop a regulatory framework to protect against fundamental rights abuses by businesses", MEPs add. 

The committee also calls on all EU Member States and of the Council of Europe to state their clear political commitment to and support for the EU's accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), so as to ensue the "highest possible level of protection of human rights in Europe".

Specific breaches, requiring urgent action

There are many specific fundamental rights issues and breaches that require "urgent concrete steps, mid-term strategies and long-term solutions, as well as follow up by EU institutions", say MEPs, who cite the following examples:

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  protecting the freedom of movement of EU citizens,

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  guaranteeing protection of personal data and privacy,

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  protecting the rights of refugees and migrants,

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  protecting the rights of victims of violence and other crimes,

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  developing and EU strategy on the rights of the child through practical measures to combat child abuse, sexual exploitation and child pornography,

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  prohibiting and eliminating all forms of discrimination in all areas of life,

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  guaranteeing and promoting freedom of the press in the EU, "which is deteriorating year after year",

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  combating poverty and social exclusion,

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  combating all forms of racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism,

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  prohibiting and eliminating all forms of discrimination against a large number of minorities, including ethnic profiling, and

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  drawing up an action-oriented EU-level strategy to foster the inclusion of Roma and mainstreaming the issue in European, national, regional and local policy implementation.

"Zero tolerance" of human rights abuses

The committee "reminds the Commission to undertake objective investigations and start infringement proceedings whenever a Member State, in implementing EU legislation, violates the rights enshrined in the Charter". It further "reminds the Commission to request that Member States provide reliable data and facts and to collect information also from non-governmental sources".

It draws attention to the "recent revival of nationalism, xenophobia and discrimination in some Member States" and stresses the central role that the European Commission should take in order to prevent and combat these possible violations of fundamental rights.

MEPs expect Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Commissioner Viviane Reding to take "concrete actions" to match her "declared intentions". These must include "zero tolerance" of violations of the Charter and "conducting in-depth investigations and initiating infringement procedures when Member States are in breach of their human rights obligations in implementing EU law". MEPs also call on the Commission to develop "a transparent and coherent way to address possible violations of human rights and make a relevant use of Article 7 TEU on the basis of the new fundamental rights architecture".

"Freezing" contested policies and practices

"EU action should not only address violations of fundamental rights after they have happened, but should also seek to prevent them", MEPs stress, calling for "a reflection on mechanisms for early detection of potential violations of fundamental rights in the EU and in its Member States, temporary freezing of the measures which constitute such violations, accelerated legal procedures for determining if a measure is contrary to EU fundamental rights and for sanctions in the event that these measures are nonetheless implemented contrary to EU law".

Under this "temporary freeze" procedure, contested national policies and practices falling within the remits of EU law and fundamental rights would "immediately be frozen until the Commission decides upon the formal launching of the infringement and/or fundamental rights proceedings and reaches a formal decision on their lawfulness and compatibility with European law and fundamental rights".

Coherence of EU internal and external human rights policy

The committee calls on the EU to "make effective" the human rights clauses in international agreements and to take account of Charter principles when entering into agreements with third countries, as well as to "maintain coherence between its internal and external human rights policy".

The European External Action Service (EEAS) "can only offer an opportunity to enhance coherence and effectiveness in the sphere of external policy's efforts to promote human rights and democracy if a human rights-based approach to the service's structure, resources and activities is endorsed", stress MEPs.

The report, drawn up by Hungarian MEP Kinga Gál (EPP) was approved in committee with 49 votes in favour, 1 against and 2 abstentions. It will be put to a vote by the full Parliament at its December plenary session in Strasbourg.

In the chair: Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, ES)