Carta dei diritti fondamentali dell’Unione europea

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.

La Carta dei diritti fondamentali dell’Unione europea (CDFUE) è la dichiarazione dei diritti fondamentali dell’UE ed è sempre vincolante per le istituzioni e gli Stati membri dell’Unione quando questi agiscono nell’ambito del diritto dell’UE. Tuttavia, non è affatto facile valutare se un caso concreto rientra nell’ambito di applicazione del diritto dell’Unione europea. Ecco perché è necessario fornire materiale formative ai professionisti del diritto e formarli in modo che possano comprendere il campo di applicazione della Carta come stabilito nel suo articolo 51. Questo manuale per formatori intende fornire una guida sia all’organizzazione sia alla realizzazione di tali corsi di formazione sulla base di una serie di casi di studio che saranno ampliati in future.

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.

Gli Stati membri hanno il dovere esplicito di promuovere l’applicazione della Carta. Queste schede nazionali promuovono tale impegno fornendo esempi dell’utilizzo della Carta ed evidenziando il modo in cui conferisce un valore aggiunto.

Essendo un catalogo dei diritti umani molto moderno, che contiene molti diritti non
reperibili nelle carte dei diritti consolidate, la Carta sembra davvero buona a livello
teorico. Coloro che conoscono i principi fondamentali del diritto dell’UE possono di
solito recitare rapidamente che la Carta è sempre vincolante per l’UE e per gli Stati
membri solo quando «attuano il diritto dell’UE». Ma che cosa significa in realtà questa
espressione spesso citata dall’articolo 51 della Carta?

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.