European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, 2024.

The 2024 Rule of Law Report examines developments across all Member States, both positive and negative, in four key areas for the rule of law: the justice system, the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism and freedom, and other institutional issues related to checks and balances. It includes country chapters for all 27 Member States, which rely on a qualitative assessment carried out by the Commission, analyse new developments since the previous Report and the follow-up to the challenges and developments identified in the 2023 edition. 

European Parliament: Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union and Ünver, A., Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

This in-depth analysis (IDA) explores the most prominent actors, cases and techniques of algorithmic authoritarianism together with the legal, regulatory and diplomatic framework related to AI-based biases as well as deliberate misuses. With the world leaning heavily towards digital transformation, AI’s use in policy, economic and social decision-making has introduced alarming trends in repressive and authoritarian agendas. Such misuse grows ever more relevant to the European Parliament, resonating with its commitment to safeguarding human rights in the context of digital trans-formation

European Parliament, Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union, Bartels, L., Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

This study examines the EU’s policy on human rights clauses in its international agreements since 2014. It focuses on the inclusion of human rights clauses in framework agreements, in line with the 2009 ‘Common Approach’, and how these clauses apply to more ‘specific’ agreements between the parties in sectoral agreements. It also looks at human rights clauses in sectoral agreements, especially sustainable fisheries partnership agreements and financing agreements, contrasting these with timber and selected investment agreements. The study emphasizes the importance of proper monitoring and enforcement to ensure compliance with human rights norms. It makes several recommendations including ensuring consistent coverage of human rights clauses across all types of agreements, clarifying their scope and giving consideration to making specific reference to newer human rights, tailoring benchmarks to individual countries, expanding the remit of Domestic Advisory Groups, and exploring additional avenues for reporting potential violations, similar to the Single Entry Point mechanism. It also recommends expanding the ‘general exceptions’ routinely included in trade and investment agreements to allow parties to take measures, not otherwise permitted by the agreement, to implement their human rights obligations.

European Union Agency for Asylum, Asylum report 2024 – Annual report on the situation of asylum in the European Union, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

For the first time since the inception of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), Europe was called to assist such a high number of people seeking protection. In 2023, asylum applications rose to levels reminiscent of the 2015-2016 refugee crisis. But in reality, countries provided protection to far more people, as over 4.3 million beneficiaries of temporary protection were recorded since the beginning of the Russian invasion, on top of the over 1.1 million asylum seekers in 2023.

Council of the European Union, Press release, 20 February 2023.

2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The EU reaffirms its unequivocal commitment to respect, protect and fulfil all human rights and to defend their universality. The EU stands united as a staunch supporter of the United Nations human rights system, and will continue to actively uphold, defend and promote all human rights as a priority of its external action.

European Union External Action

A list of reports from 2009 to 2022. The reports provide a general overview of human rights and democracy, within EU borders and worldwide.

European Union External Action

An integral part of EU's Human Rights Policy is a series of Guidelines on issues of importance to the EU. EU Guidelines have been adopted at ministerial level and they represent a strong political signal that they are priorities for the EU and its Member States. These Guidelines are pragmatic instrument of EU human rights policy and practical tools to support EU missions to advance the policy.

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Fundamental rights report 2024, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2024 reviews major developments in the field in 2023. Given the backdrop of threats to fundamental rights and freedoms in Europe today, FRA’s annual report is a timely review of the most pressing issues. It also presents FRA’s opinions on these developments, including a synopsis of the evidence supporting these opinions. The introductory lead chapter provides a broad view of fundamental rights concerns in 2023. Rising racism is a worrying trend, alongside an increase in incidents of hate against Jews and Muslims. Increasing digitalisation of our societies appears unstoppable and yet has ramifications for fundamental rights protections. Urgent action is needed to tackle climate change without encroaching on the economic rights of marginalised communities. This chapter also highlights the major EU policymaking developments to address these issues. The remaining chapters focus on three major themes: the cost-of-living crisis, sustained threats to democratic values and civic space, and the complex, polarising issue of migration. The final chapter analyses the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Through this report, FRA highlights the need for a multifaceted approach to building a more inclusive Europe.

Council of Europe, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022.

Children are full-fledged holders of rights. They are beneficiaries of all human and fundamental rights and subjects of special regulations, given their specific characteristics. This handbook aims to illustrate how European law and case law accommodate the specific interests and needs of children. It also considers the importance of parents and guardians or other legal representatives and makes reference, where appropriate, to situations in which rights and responsibilities are most prominently vested in children’s carers. This handbook aims to raise awareness and improve knowledge of the legal standards that protect and promote children’s rights in Europe. It is a point of reference on both European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (CoE) law related to these subjects, explaining how each issue is regulated under EU law, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, as well as under the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter and other CoE instruments. The handbook is designed for non-specialist legal professionals, judges, public prosecutors, child protection authorities, and other practitioners and organisations responsible for ensuring the legal protection of the rights of the child. It explains key jurisprudence, summarising major rulings of both the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights.

A portal with all publications produced by any of the research departments of the European Parliament.

European Parliament, Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union, Freedman, R., European Parliament, 2023.

This in-depth analysis focuses on competing human rights narratives, particularly those that challenge or undermine the priorities set out in the European Union (EU) Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024. It identifies the strategies deployed to advance those narratives internationally, some of the main proponents of those narratives and key motivations for those agendas.

European Union Agency for Asylum, Role of national human rights institutions and ombudspersons, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

The Who is Who project follows the same methodology that is used for the EUAA Asylum Report. Accordingly, the Information and Analysis Sector undertakes desk research based on publicly available sources. The information is validated by Members States and other stakeholders, if applicable. The information has been validated by each country, except for Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Portugal and Romania. In addition, the Austrian Children and Youth Ombuds Offices, the Dutch National Ombudsman and the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman and the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights were not officially validated

European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union, Maassen, P., Martinsen, D., Elken, M. et al., European Parliament, 2023.

Ever since the early history of European universities, academic freedom has been acknowledged to be a fundamental feature of any higher education research system or institution. The emergence of the research university model in Germany in the early 1800s, highlighting the basic concepts of Lehrfreiheit and Lernfreiheit, contributed strongly to the central position of academic freedom in present-day higher education systems. Following the widespread democratisation of Europe and other parts of the world during the second half of the 20th century, academic freedom became no longer simply an abstract concept; in many countries, it was codified as a specific freedom. More recently, academic freedom has been recognised as a basic condition for a healthy democracy and an essential feature of any democratic political order. Currently, major breaches of and threats to academic freedom can be observed across Europe and the world. Presenting independent research into the de facto state of play of academic freedom in the EU Member States, this study has been designed to contribute to a better understanding of potential and real threats to academic freedom in the EU Member States, and ways in which the protection of academic freedom can be strengthened.

European Data Protection Supervisor, 2023.

This background paper explores the requirement of respecting the ‘essence’ of the rights to respect for private life and of right to the protection of personal data whenever these rights are limited under European Union (EU) law.