The Fundamental Rights Report: Challenges and Achievements in 2025 is FRA’s flagship annual publication. It provides an overview of the state of fundamental rights in the EU and highlights selected critical developments from 2025. This year, it focuses on four areas: rights protection in a rapidly changing digital environment; the housing crisis and rising homelessness rates; employment challenges for people from non-EU countries; and the implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The publication is a valuable resource for those seeking to stay informed about the EU’s shifting landscape of fundamental rights.
This report examines how human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) are built into lawmaking across the EU and its Member States. It highlights that, although progress has been made, the use of HRIAs remains uneven and often superficial. In many EU countries, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is frequently overlooked. The report identifies insufficient consultation with external experts, limited stakeholder participation and a lack of evaluation once laws are in force. To address these gaps, it offers practical recommendations for more systematic, inclusive and evidence-based HRIAs that strengthen human rights protection and ensure better, more accountable legislation throughout the EU.
Den Europæiske Unions charter om grundlæggende rettigheder (chartret) er EU’s katalog over menneskerettigheder. Det forpligter altid EU-institutionerne og medlemsstaterne, når de handler inden for EU-rettens anvendelsesområde. Det er imidlertid langt fra let at vurdere, om en konkret sag er omfattet af EU-rettens anvendelsesområde. Derfor er det nødvendigt at stille uddannelse og undervisningsmateriale til rådighed for retsvæsenets aktører, så de kan forstå chartrets anvendelsesområde som fastsat i chartrets artikel 51. Denne vejledning for undervisere har til formål at rådgive om både tilrettelæggelsen og gennemførelsen af sådanne kurser på grundlag af en række casestudier, som vil blive udvidet i fremtiden.
This focus takes a closer look at the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which has been legally binding for 10 years. At EU level, it has gained visibility and sparked a new fundamental rights culture. At national level, awareness and use of the Charter are limited. Courts increasingly use the Charter, showing the impact of this modern instrument. But its use by governments and parliaments remains low. For instance, there is little indication of anyone regularly scrutinising national legislation that transposes EU law for compatibility with the Charter.
The Charter is most effective, and has a real impact on people’s lives, when parliaments, governments and courts at local, regional and national levels all actively apply it. The national sphere is particularly relevant. A strong fundamental rights architecture and committed national governments and parliaments are key to letting the Charter unfold its potential at this level. Civil society organisations (CSOs) and national human rights institutions (NHRIs) are also crucial given their contributions to the protection and promotion of Charter rights.
Medlemsstaterne har en udtrykkelig pligt til at fremme anvendelsen af chartret. Dette landespecifikke papir understøtter dette arbejde ved at give eksempler på anvendelsen af chartret og vise, hvordan det tilfører værdi.
Som et meget moderne menneskerettighedskatalog med en masse rettigheder, som
ikke findes i gældende borgerrettighedslovgivning, ser chartret særdeles godt ud
på papiret. De, der er bekendt med de vigtigste principper i EU-retten, kan normalt
hurtigt udtale sig om, at chartret altid er bindende for EU, og for medlemsstaterne
kun når de »gennemfører EU-retten«. Men hvad betyder denne ofte citerede vending
fra chartrets artikel 51 egentlig?
With this Opinion, FRA aims to contribute to the European Parliament's own-initiative report on the “Implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in the EU institutional framework”, being prepared in the Parliament’s Committee for Constitutional Affairs (AFCO). The request aims at understanding the interaction between the Charter’s implementation at national and EU level, and whether there are “instruments, mechanisms and practices” available at EU level to assist Member States to better implement the Charter.
Report / Paper / Summary8December2025
