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.
Handbook / Guide / Manual
19
August
2022
CS, DE, ES, FR, HU, IT, NL, PL, RO versions now available
Eiropas Savienības Pamattiesību harta (CFREU) ir ES tiesību aktu kopums. Tas vienmēr ir saistošs Savienības iestādēm un dalībvalstīm, tām rīkojoties Savienības tiesību piemērošanas jomā. Taču nebūt nav viegli novērtēt, vai konkrēts gadījums ietilpst Savienības tiesību piemērošanas jomā. Tāpēc ir jānodrošina apmācības un mācību materiāli praktizējošiem juristiem, lai viņi varētu izprast Hartas piemērošanas jomu, kā noteikts tās 51. pantā. Šīs pasniedzēja rokasgrāmatas mērķis ir sniegt norādījumus gan par šādu apmācību organizēšanu, gan īstenošanu, pamatojoties uz vairākiem gadījumu pētījumiem, kuru skaits nākotnē tiks paplašināts.
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.
Dalībvalstīm ir nepārprotams pienākums sekmēt hartas piemērošanu. Šīs valstu faktu lapas palīdz īstenot šos centienus, sniedzot hartas izmantošanas piemērus un uzsverot hartas pievienoto vērtību.
Harta “uz papīra” izskatās tiešām labi: tā ir ļoti moderns cilvēktiesību katalogs, kas ietver virkni jau spēkā esošās tiesību hartās neiekļautu tiesību. Tie, kas pārzina ES tiesību galvenos principus, parasti var bez kavēšanās norādīt, ka Harta ir vienmēr saistoša Eiropas Savienībai un saistoša dalībvalstīm tikai tad, ja tās “īsteno ES tiesību aktus”. Bet ko šis bieži citētais Hartas 51. pantā izmantotais formulējums patiesībā nozīmē?
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.