Report / Paper / Summary
2026
Fundamental Rights in an Uncertain Future: Strategic foresight for Europe 2040
Europe’s future will be shaped by technology, climate and economic pressures, demographic changes and challenges to democracy and security, and by the choices we make in response. Strategic foresight explores how these changes could unfold. FRA’s strategic foresight work aims to bring fundamental rights into decisions while there is still time to shape them.
This report explores how future changes could affect fundamental rights. It sets out ways to protect rights in the face of major transitions and helps institutions prepare before decisions become urgent. It is accompanied by practical guidance, ‘Embedding fundamental rights in foresight: A guide for practitioners’, designed to support practitioners integrate fundamental rights in foresight exercises.
This report explores how future changes could affect fundamental rights. It sets out ways to protect rights in the face of major transitions and helps institutions prepare before decisions become urgent. It is accompanied by practical guidance, ‘Embedding fundamental rights in foresight: A guide for practitioners’, designed to support practitioners integrate fundamental rights in foresight exercises.
TABLE OF CONTENT
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Methodological approach
- 1. Setting the scene: Europe in 2040
- 2. How future transformations may affect fundamental rights in Europe by 2040
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3. Pathways for a rights-based future for Europe in 2040
- 3.1. Embed fundamental rights in decision-making
- 3.2. Strengthen democratic participation and resilience
- 3.3. Develop adaptive accountability systems
- 3.4. Align innovation with fundamental rights
- 3.5. Ensure a fair and inclusive environmental transition
- 3.6. Prepare societies for disruption and change
- Conclusion: shaping the future through fundamental rights
- About this publication
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About this publication
© European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2026
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Vienna: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2026
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- TK-01-26-029-EN-Q
- ISSN: 978-92-9489-830-2
- DOI: 10.2811/8726048
PDF WEB
- TK-01-26-029-EN-N
- ISSN: 978-92-9489-831-9
- DOI: 10.2811/6662547
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- TK-01-26-029-EN-C
- ISSN: 978-92-9489-832-6
- DOI: 10.2811/0797020
FRA – EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
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