COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2025 Annual report on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights Taking stock of the implementation of the Strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU
Date: 2025-12-05
Institutions: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Subjects: EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, EU financing, EU strategy, access to the courts, activity report, application of EU law, fundamental rights, right to justice

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 5.12.2025  COM(2025) 751 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2025 Annual report on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights    Taking stock of the implementation of the Strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU  
 
 
2025 Annual report on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental 
Rights 

Taking stock of the implementation of the Strategy to strengthen the application of the 
Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU 

Table of Contents 

1. 

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 2 

2.  Ensuring the effective application of the Charter by the Member States ...................................... 4 

3.  Empowering civil society organisations, rights defenders and justice practitioners ................... 10 

4.  Fostering the use of the Charter as a compass for EU institutions ............................................... 15 

5.  Strengthening people’s awareness of their rights under the Charter ........................................... 18 

6.  Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 20 

 
 
 
 
 
1.  Introduction 

2025 marks the 25th anniversary of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union 
(the  Charter) 1 .  Proclaimed  in  Nice  on  7  December  2000,  the  Charter  enshrines  the 
fundamental rights of everyone in the European Union. It reaffirms and brings together civil 
and political rights, and economic and social rights, translating them into the EU context. The 
Charter highlights the role of fundamental rights as the founding values of the EU, which both 
the EU institutions and the EU Member States are required to respect when applying EU law.  

In 2020, the European Commission presented its Strategy to strengthen the application of 
the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU (Charter strategy)2, recognising the need to 
make the Charter rights and principles a reality for all. In application from 2020 to 2030, the 
Charter  strategy  relies  on  effective  cooperation  between  the  Commission  and  the 
stakeholders  that  are  central  to  strengthening  the  implementation  and  application  of 
fundamental  rights  –  national,  regional  and  local  authorities,  civil  society  and  human  rights 
defenders, justice professionals  and EU institutions. The strategy  also  addresses the need to 
inform the public about  fundamental rights and the remedies available if fundamental rights 
violations occur. 

The past years have witnessed a stronger focus on advancing and safeguarding fundamental 
rights across the EU. The fundamental rights of the Charter – with its components of human 
dignity,  freedoms,  equality,  solidarity,  citizens’  rights  and  justice  –  are  at  the  core  of  EU 
legislation  and  policies,  reflecting  our  shared  commitment  to  a  democratic  and  just  society. 
During the first five years of implementing the strategy, new EU legislation that protects and 
promotes specific fundamental rights has been adopted3. This legislation has detailed some of 
the  Member  States'  fundamental  rights  obligations  and  tasked  stakeholder  groups,  such  as 
independent  fundamental  rights  bodies  and  civil  society,  with  supporting  the  Charter’s 
application through their role in applying the relevant EU law.  

Nonetheless,  progress  on  the  protection  of  fundamental  rights  cannot  be  taken  for  granted4. 
Mechanisms to protect these rights must remain functional at all times, and sustained efforts 
are needed at all levels to ensure and strengthen the protection of the rights of the Charter.  

When does the Charter apply? 

With the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, the Charter gained the same legal value 
as the Treaties5, i.e. the EU law on which EU legislation and policies are based. EU institutions, 
bodies,  offices  and  agencies  must  comply  with  the  Charter  in  all  their  activities,  as  must  the 
Member States when they implement EU law6. 

1 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (OJ C 326, 26.10.2012, p. 391-407). 
2 COM(2020) 711 final. 
3 Including  the  Digital  Services  Act;  European  Media  Freedom  Act;  Equality  Bodies  Directives;  Directive  on 
combating  violence  against  Women  and  domestic  violence;  the  Pay  Transparency  Directive;  proposal  for  the 
revision  of  the  Victims  Rights  Directive;  and  proposal  for  a  recast  of  the  Child  Sexual  Abuse  Materials 
Directive. 
4 See 2025 Rule of Law Report, COM(2025) 900 final, p. 1; FRA, 2025 Fundamental Rights Report, p. 21. 
5 Article 6 Treaty on European Union (TEU). 
6 Article 51(1) of the Charter. 

2 

 
 
 
Member States implement EU law when they: 

- give effect to EU legislation by adopting national implementing measures; 
- adopt legislation where EU law imposes specific obligations, or allows for a derogation7; 

- adopt specific measures intended to contribute to the achievement of the objective of an EU act, 
when authorised to do so by the act in question; 

- implement EU funding programmes in line with the EU funding rules.  

This  year’s  Charter  report  provides  an  important  opportunity  to  take  stock  of  the 
progress in the Charter strategy's implementation. The report presents an overview of the 
measures taken between 2020 and 2025 to strengthen the Charter’s application at the EU level 
and  in  the  Member  States.  It  also  highlights  the  remaining  challenges  in  this  regard,  and 
identifies where further efforts are needed, proposing areas for improvement, and supporting 
deeper  cooperation  among  EU  institutions,  Member  States,  and  other  stakeholders  for  the 
second half of the strategy’s implementation.  

The  Commission  has  gathered  data  for  this  report  through  various  targeted  consultations 
and  a  call  for  evidence8.  This  report  draws  on  a  qualitative  assessment  of  the  consultation 
feedback, including targeted online consultations with: (i) Member States9; (ii) Charter focal 
points10; (iii) local and regional authorities11; (iv) the European Network of National Human 
Rights  Institutions  (ENNHRI),  the  European  Network  of  Equality  Bodies  (Equinet),  the 
European  Network  of  Ombudsmen  and  their  members 12 ;  (v)  judges  and  other  justice 
practitioners,  judicial  training  providers  and  their  networks13;  (vi)  Commission  services  and 
(vii) the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). An online consultation with civil society 
was  carried  out  through  the  FRA’s  Fundamental  Rights  Platform 14 ;  as  was  a  series  of 
consultation meetings15. 

7 When Member States adopt laws in an area where the EU has no competence and when no EU law exists, they 
are not implementing EU law, and the Charter is not applicable. However, many fundamental rights enshrined in 
the  Charter  are  also  set  out  in  national  constitutions  and  case  law,  as  well  as  in  the  European  Convention  on 
Human Rights, to which all Member States are parties. 
8 Have your say - Mid-term review of the Charter strategy. 
9 Responses were received from 20 participating Member States: AT, BE, BG, CY, DK, FI, FR, DE, HU, IE, IT, 
LU, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SI, ES and SE. 
10 Responses were received from 12 participating Charter focal points: AT, BE, HR, CY, FI, LV, LT, MT, NL, 
RO, ES and SE. 
11 51 participants. 
12 23 participants. 
13 112 participants. 
14 Civil society and the Fundamental Rights Platform. A total of 101 responses were received. The consultation 
was distributed through the FRA’s Fundamental Rights Platform. The Platform is composed of over 1 000 civil 
society  organisations,  trade  unions,  faith-based  organisations,  experts  representing  academia  and  research 
institutions, and individual human rights defenders.  
15 With  the  Council  Working  Party  on  Fundamental  Rights,  Citizens  Rights  and  Free  Movement  of  Persons; 
Committee  on  Civil  Liberties,  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  of  the  European  Parliament;  Commission  for 
Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs of the European Committee of the Regions; Ad hoc 
group on Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law of the European Economic and Social Committee; and the 
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

3 

 
 
 
 
2.  Ensuring the effective application of the Charter by the Member States 

Member  States  play  a  key  role  in  implementing  and  applying  the  Charter,  with  national 
authorities giving full effect to fundamental rights whenever they implement EU law. In the 
Charter strategy, the Commission therefore committed to strengthening its partnership with 
Member States to ensure the effective implementation and application of the Charter by 
preventing fundamental rights violations, promoting fundamental rights awareness, increasing 
coordination and ensuring enforcement.  

2.1. Charter focal points 

To ensure  effective  coordination  and  cooperation on the application of the Charter, the  vast 
majority  of  Member  States  have  nominated  a  national  Charter  focal  point 16 .  The 
Commission has supported their work by organising information meetings and exchanges of 
best  practice  both  online  and  in  person,  and  by  sharing  updates  on  the  Charter.  To  further 
strengthen  these efforts, the Commission will organise the work of the Charter focal points as 
a Commission network to regularly exchange on the implementation and application of the 
Charter. 

National administrations are best placed to determine how the tasks of the Charter focal points 
should be organised to  effectively improve fundamental rights coordination in  each national 
context17. The consultations also indicate potential for the focal points to further engage with 
fundamental rights bodies, civil society and local and regional authorities18. The Commission 
accordingly  invites  the  Member  States  to  strengthen  the  information-provision, 
awareness-raising  and capacity-building  measures  on  the  Charter at national level, also 
by supporting the activities of the Charter focal points, and by involving civil society and 
national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in this work. 

2.2. Promoting training on the Charter 

In the Charter strategy,  Member States  are invited to  promote the use and awareness  of the 
local 
Charter  by  developing  guidance  and  training  for  national,  regional  and 
administrations and the sharing of best practice19 and to encourage mutual learning on the 

16 Consultation of Member States, question 2. 
17 The  focal  points’  tasks  are  varied  and  include  the  sharing  of  information  and  best  practice  on  the  Charter 
(92%),  provision  or  coordination  of  Charter  training  (58%),  assisting  authorities  in  assessing  the  impacts  of 
legislation  and  policies  on  fundamental  rights  (25%),  organisation  of  Charter  events,  EU-funding-related 
activities  and  reporting  on  the  Charter  to  the  Commission  and  the  FRA;  consultation  of  Charter  focal  points, 
question  2;  consultation  of  Member  States,  question  3.  The  main  challenges  are  the  lack  of  time  due  to  other 
work tasks (83%), broad scope of the potential tasks (83%) and unclear guidance from the Commission (67%); 
consultation of Charter focal points, question 7; consultation of Member States, question 6. 
18 Most  of  the  focal  points’  tasks  are  carried  out  within  governments  (67%),  with  the  EU  (33%),  civil  society 
(25%), and NHRIs, equality bodies and ombudspeople (17%); consultation of Charter focal points, question 5. 
19 16 Member States have shared best practices on the application of the Charter on the e-Justice Portal (Member 
States’ best practices on the Charter). 58% of the responding Member States indicate having updated the Portal 
(consultation of Member States, question 10); and 23 have provided information on where to seek remedies for 
fundamental rights violations (National courts and other non-judicial bodies). 

4 

 
 
 
Charter. While half of the Member States have organised dedicated Charter training20, more 
targeted  training  is  needed  to  ensure  that  relevant  authorities  have  sufficient  knowledge  of 
fundamental  rights 21.  The  Commission  will  further  support  these  efforts  by  launching  a 
mutual  learning  programme  on  the  Charter  to  help  national  stakeholders  implement 
and  apply  the  Charter  through  peer-to-peer  exchanges,  workshops,  and  transnational 
sharing of best practice. 

The FRA has supported the Charter’s application at national level through data collection and 
analysis, including  in its  Fundamental  Rights  Reports and Charterpedia22. To enable the 
exchange of best practice on the Charter, the FRA and the Commission have been organising, 
since  2023,  an  annual  CharterXchange  online  event,  which  brings  together  practitioners 
and  other  interested  participants  including  national  administrations  to  share  experience  and 
discuss the challenges and opportunities related to the application of the Charter23. 

The Commission and the FRA have developed training programmes and materials on the 
Charter  and  will  continue  to  raise  awareness  of  the  existing  materials,  information  and 
tools. Member States are further encouraged to develop information and training material on 
the Charter in their national languages, also, where relevant, by translating the FRA’s Charter 
tools and adapting them to the national context. 

2.3. Increasing the use of impact assessments on fundamental rights at national level 

In  the  Charter  strategy,  Member  States  were  invited  to  use  impact  assessments  and 
legislative scrutiny procedures to ensure that initiatives to implement EU law comply with 
the Charter24.  Some  Member States  have developed guidelines and use  advisory bodies  and 
public consultations to help applying the Charter, while ministries and parliamentary bodies 
also  have  a  central  role  in  overseeing  and  reviewing  legislative  proposals’  compliance  with 
the  Charter 25.  At  the  same  time,  FRA  research  indicates  that  assessments  of  impacts  of 
legislative  proposals  on  fundamental  rights26 are  not  carried  out  systematically,  and  ex post 
evaluations are the exception rather than the rule. This indicates a need to continue supporting 

20 53% of the responding Member States; consultation of Member States, question 9. As only 20 Member States 
participated in the consultation, the results remain indicative. 
21 Consultation of Member States, question 25. 
22 FRA contribution, pp. 3-4, referring to Charterpedia and 2025 Fundamental Rights Report. The Charterpedia 
includes Charter articles available in all EU languages, case law and law references available in English and the 
national language of respective country. Charter handbook, trainer’s manual and e-learning courses are available 
in all languages except GA and MT). See FRA material and resources on the Charter, Charter factsheets. 
23 E.g. 2nd Annual EU CharterXchange, 3rd Annual EU CharterXchange.  
24 79%  of  the  responding  Member  States  report  using  impact  assessments  and  legislative  scrutiny  to  ensure 
Charter compliance (consultation of Member States, question 7). 
25 37%  of  the  responding  Member  States  have  issued  guidance  to  authorities  on  assessing  the  impacts  on  the 
Charter  when  transposing  and  implementing  EU  law;  consultation  of  Member  States,  question  7.  The  role  of 
national  parliaments  is  mentioned  by  DE,  FI,  HU,  IE  and  ES;  consultation  of  Member  States,  question  8. 
Dedicated  training  has  been made  available  to  national,  local  or  regional  authorities  in  53%  of  these  Member 
States. 
26 Human rights impact assessments cover 1) ex ante impact assessments (the assessment of possible impacts of 
legislation); 2) legal scrutiny (assessment of a legislative proposal against fundamental rights standards); and  3) 
ex post evaluations (retrospective evaluations of how legislation has affected fundamental rights after it has been 
implemented); FRA, 2025, ‘Better legislation: Human rights impact assessments in lawmaking’. 

5 

 
 
 
national  authorities  in  assessing  the  impacts  that  national  legislation  that  transposes  EU 
obligations  may  have  on  fundamental  rights,  when  the  transposition  measures  could  have  a 
major impact on Charter rights. The Commission invites the Charter focal points to distribute 
relevant  tools  and  information  for  national-  and  local-level  policymakers  to  assist  them  in 
carrying out such impact assessments. 

2.4. The role of local and regional authorities 

The Charter is being used by local and regional authorities27 and the FRA’s Human Rights 
Cities  framework28 is  considered  useful  in  helping  them  develop  fundamental  rights-based 
action  plans  and  networks 29.  Dedicated  training  tools  are  being  developed  as  part  of  the 
RIGHTSCITIES  project 30  funded  under  the  Citizens,  Equality,  Rights  and  Values 
programme (CERV). Since 2021, the Commission has helped local and regional authorities 
to promote the Charter through the Town  Twinning  call  of the CERV programme31. Town 
twinning creates opportunities for cooperation between municipalities in  different  countries, 
enabling  local  authorities  to  address  shared  challenges  through  the  lens  of  the  Charter. 
Projects  have, 
inclusion,  democratic 
participation, gender equality and rights of persons belonging to minorities. 

focused  on  non-discrimination, 

instance, 

for 

Further information is however needed on the added value of the Charter in comparison with 
other human rights instruments, and when it applies at local level32. Consultations indicate a 
need for further practical support, such as tailored training, awareness-raising and funding33. 
The  Commission  accordingly  invites  the  Member  States  to  support  local  and  regional 
authorities in applying the Charter,  for example by building on the materials developed by 
the RIGHTSCITIES project. 

2.5. Prevention, monitoring and enforcement 

Under  EU  law,  national  authorities  have  the  main  responsibility  for  correctly  applying  EU 
law. National courts play a key role in enforcing the Charter by applying and interpreting EU 
law  in  the  domestic  legal  order.  The  preliminary  ruling  mechanism  sets  up  a  dialogue 

27 The responding local and regional authorities use the Charter to inform policy and decision-making (33%), in 
EU funding (33%) and to raise awareness (25%); consultation of local and regional authorities, question 6. They 
identify  equality  and  non-discrimination  (80%),  housing,  health,  education,  social  protection  and  support  to 
vulnerable groups (59%), personal data protection (49%), and local democracy (57%) as the policy areas where 
they can most effectively use the Charter; consultation of local and regional authorities, question 11. 52.94% of 
the respondents were from Poland, which affects the conclusiveness of this consultation. 
28 Human rights cities in the EU: a framework for reinforcing rights locally. This framework is known to 41% of 
the respondents.  
29 Consultation of local and regional authorities, question 10. 
30  RIGHTSCITIES  -  The  Raoul  Wallenberg  Institute  of  Human  Rights  and  Humanitarian  Law. 
RIGHTSCITIES– LBI für Grund- und Menschenrechte. 
31 Out of 400 funded projects between 2021 and 2025, approximately 10% reference the Charter. 
32 Consultation  of  local  and  regional  authorities,  questions  15  and  21.  47%  of  the  respondents  are  not  taking 
initiatives  to  increase  the  use  of  the  Charter  by  their  authority,  and  33%  are  unaware  of  such  initiatives; 
consultation of local and regional authorities, question 12. 
33 Consultation of local and regional authorities, questions 21 and 22. 75% of the responding authorities have not 
participated in Charter training (question 7), and 26% consider the available training opportunities as insufficient 
or do not know if they are sufficient (55%) (question 8). 

6 

 
 
 
mechanism between the Court of Justice of the European Union and national courts to ensure 
that EU law, including the Charter, is interpreted uniformly. 

In  the  Charter  strategy,  the  Commission  highlighted  the  importance  of  continuous  dialogue 
with Member States to prevent fundamental rights violations34. Such dialogue takes place 
in particular in policy-specific working groups35 and through mutual learning activities36. At 
the same time, the Commission reaffirmed its commitment to monitor the application of the 
Charter and related EU laws and closely monitor cases where a Member State is showing a 
systemic failure in applying the Charter when implementing EU law37. In the past years, the 
Commission  has  launched  infringement  procedures38 related  to  respect  for  specific  Charter 
rights, such as for example the right to an effective remedy, the protection of personal data, 
respect  for  private  and  family  life,  the  right  to  freedom  of  peaceful  assembly,  freedom  of 
association, non-discrimination on the basis of nationality, sex or sexual orientation, respect 
for human dignity, freedom of expression and media pluralism, the right to legal professional 
privilege, and the presumption of innocence. 

Since  2021,  the  Commission  has  presented  annual  reports  on  the  application  of  the 
Charter, looking at the Charter’s impact in particular policy areas39. The Charter strategy and 
the annual reports on the application of the Charter form part of a broader EU-level endeavour 
to  strengthen  the  founding  values,  including  the  respect  for  human  rights,  the  rule  of  law, 
democracy and equality. This also includes the annual Rule of Law Reports40, the European 
Democracy Action Plan, the Defence of Democracy Package41, reports on EU citizenship42, 

34 The Commission has also provided training to SOLVIT centres on fundamental rights. 
35 For  instance,  the  high-level  group  on  combating  hate  speech  and  hate  crime  that  helps  Member  States  to 
implement Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA; the expert group that helps Member States to transpose 
and implement Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law; the EU 
Network for Children’s Rights that provides a platform for dialogue for the implementation of the EU strategy 
on  the  rights  of  the  child  and  the  Commission  Recommendation  on  integrated  child  protection  systems;  the 
Network  for  the  prevention  of  gender-based  violence  and  domestic  violence;  the  High-Level  Group  on  Non-
Discrimination, Equality and Diversity that supports efforts to combat discrimination and promote equality and 
diversity;  the  European  Equality  Law  Network  that  provides  information  on  compliance  with  Equality 
Directives. 
36 Such as the mutual learning programme in gender equality, partnership initiatives on  combating hate speech 
and hate crime, and the EU Child Participation Platform. 
37 In  line  with  the  principle  of  subsidiarity,  the  Commission  does  not  generally  intervene  in  individual  cases 
related  to  breaches  of  fundamental  rights,  which  must  be  dealt  with  by  national  authorities  and  courts  in 
accordance with national remedies. It will only intervene  if there are elements which point at the existence of 
provisions  or  systematic  practices,  which  breach  obligations  stemming  from  Union  law.  See    also  point  5: 
Strengthening people’s awareness of their rights under the Charter. 
38 Infringement cases in the EU - Infringement cases, transposition of directives and EU Pilot dialogue. See, for 
example,  Case  C-204/21,  Commission  v  Poland  (Independence  and  privacy  of  judges),  Case  C-808/21, 
Commission  v  Czech  Republic  (Freedom  of  assembly  and  of  association),  Case  C-769/22,  Commission  v 
Hungary  (Human  dignity,  protection  of  personal  data  and  respect  for  private  and  family  life,  freedom  of 
expression and information, non-discrimination), Case C-92/23, Commission v Hungary (Right to provide media 
services  on  a  radio  frequency),  Case  C-829/24,  Commission  v  Hungary  (Protection  against  foreign  political 
interference) and Case C-57/25, Commission v Estonia (Effective judicial remedy). 
39 Four annual Charter reports have been issued, focusing on fundamental rights in the digital age, thriving civic 
space, effective legal protection and access to justice, and fundamental rights funding. 
40 2025 Rule of Law Report. The monitoring also covers issues such as judicial independence and the enabling 
framework for civic space, that are directly relevant for the application of fundamental rights. 
41 Including JOIN(2025) 791 final and  COM/2025/790 final.  
42 EU citizenship reports. 

7 

 
 
 
the  European  Democracy  Shield43,  the  Strategy  for  Civil  Society44 and  strategies  to  address 
the needs of specific rights-holder groups45. 

In developing the annual reports on the application of the Charter, the Commission works in 
partnership  with  other  EU  institutions  and  agencies,  in  particular  the  FRA,  to  gather 
information  and  data  for  the  reports,  and  carries  out  broad  stakeholder  consultations46.  The 
Charter reports are valuable tools for emphasising the relevance of fundamental rights 
across various policies, while also serving as reminders on the broad scope and applicability 
of the Charter. The reports are also considered useful for civil society and the judiciary47 as 
they  provide  regular  aggregated  summaries  of  relevant  EU  law,  guide  advocacy  action  in 
support  of  fundamental  rights,  and  overall,  in  underscoring  recognition  of  the  existing 
challenges48.  However,  stakeholders  have  called  for  boosting  the  reports'  use  as  monitoring 
tools,  in  particular,  by  suggesting  focusing  on  protecting  specific  Charter  rights;  and  to 
include references to judicial decisions. 

The Commission will look into ways to further develop the Charter reports to provide a 
more  detailed  overview  of  the  main  developments  concerning  the  application  of  specific 
Charter  rights  related  to  the  selected  theme,  including  relevant  judicial  decisions.  The 
Commission  will  support  its  findings  with  relevant  data  indicators,  when  available,  from 
Eurostat  and  other  relevant  sources.  It  will  conduct  a  feasibility  study  to  analyse  further 
opportunities to strengthen the monitoring of fundamental rights in the context of the annual 
thematic  Charter  reports.  These  aspects  will  also  be  discussed  in  the  framework  of  the  new 
Civil Society Platform that will be set up in 202649. 

The  consultations  show  that  the  national  level  follow-up  to  the  Charter  reports  has 
remained limited50. Therefore, the Commission invites the Member States to increase their 
efforts  following  up  the  Charter  reports,  in  particular,  in  organising  events  with  relevant 
stakeholder groups to discuss the topic of the annual report in the national context. 

The  Commission  has  likewise  invited  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  to  organise 
substantive  discussions  to  follow  up  on  the  Charter  reports.  In  2021,  the  Council  adopted 
Council  conclusions  on  strengthening  the  application  of  the  Charter,  detailing  the 

43 JOIN/2025/791 final. 
44 COM/2025/790 final. 
45 Such as the EU Strategy for the Rights of the Child. For the Union of equality strategies, see footnote 107. 
46 For the stakeholders consulted for this report, see Chapter 1. 
47 Consultation  of  civil  society,  question  19.  68.32%  of  respondents  are  aware  of  the  reports;  Consultation  of 
justice professionals, question 19. 72.22% of respondents are aware of the reports 
48 According to the ENNHRI, the  dedicated attention from the  Commission to gathering information from key 
stakeholders  for  the  annual  Charter  report  has  increased  the  recognition  of  the  relevance  and  needs  of 
stakeholders at EU level. The ENNHRI contribution to the consultations of NHRIs, p. 5. 
49 COM/2025/790 final.  
50 37%  of  the  responding  Member  States  report  having  organised  follow-up;  consultation  of  Member  States, 
question 11. Some have sent the report for information to the responsible Minister (HU) or ministries and NHRIs 
(LU, ES). In BG, the findings have informed the development of future  judicial  training activities.  PL  and PT 
have organised follow-up events. See also consultation of NHRIs, equality bodies and ombudspeople, question 
27. 

8 

 
 
 
measures Member States could take to support the strategy’s implementation51. Each year, it 
has invited the Commission to present the findings of the Charter report to the Member States 
and  has  adopted  Council  conclusions  on 
the  report  with  further 
recommendations52. 

topic  of 

the 

In  the  strategy,  the  Commission  also  encouraged  the  European  Parliament  and  national 
parliaments to develop interparliamentary cooperation on the application of the Charter.  
It again invites the European Parliament to involve the national parliaments in strengthening 
the  application  of  the  Charter,  also  by  organising  an  interparliamentary  coordination 
meeting  on  the  application  of  the  Charter.  The  Commission  stands  ready  to  support  the 
development of this initiative. 

2.6. Ensuring protection of the Charter values through EU funds 

EU  funding  is  key  to  supporting  the  implementation  of  EU  policies.  To  ensure  that  the 
implementation  of  EU  funds  complies  with  the  Charter,  the  Common  Provision  Regulation 
(CPR) 53  includes  a  horizontal  ‘enabling  condition’  on  the  effective  application  and 
impementation of the Charter (Charter HEC)54. The Charter HEC requires Member States 
to have in place arrangements to ensure that programmes supported by the CPR funds comply 
with  the  Charter  at  all  stages  of  programming  and  implementation.  They  are  encouraged  to 
involve  civil  society  organisations,  such  as  independent  fundamental  rights  bodies,  in  these 
arrangements.  Member  States  are  also  required  to  establish  reporting  arrangements  to  the 
monitoring  committees  for  cases  of  non-compliance  of  operations  with  the  Charter  and 
complaints regarding the Charter. 

The  Commission  will  continue  to  monitor  whether  the  Charter  HEC  remains  fulfilled 
throughout  the  programming  period,  and  will  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure 
compliance as appropriate55.The consultations, however, indicate a need for more information 
and  guidance  to  help  the  national  and  regional  authorities  managing  EU  funds  apply  the 
Charter, for instance, by providing guidance through training modules, capacity building, or 
the  exchange  of  best  practice56.  In  line  with  the  commitment  made  in  the  Charter  strategy, 
such guidance has been published in the form of a manual  to guide national  and regional 

51 Council conclusions on strengthening the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the European 
Union. 
52 Council  conclusions  on  digital  empowerment  to  protect  and  enforce  fundamental  rights  in  the  digital  age; 
Council Conclusions on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; The role of the civic space in 
protecting  and  promoting  fundamental  rights  in  the  EU;  Conclusions  on  the  application  of  the  EU  Charter  of 
Fundamental  Rights:  promoting  trust  through  effective  legal  protection  and  access  to  justice;  Council 
conclusions  on  the  application  of  the  EU  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights:  funding  to  promote,  protect  and 
enforce fundamental rights. 
53 Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. 
54 The  horizontal  enabling  condition  on  the  ‘effective  application  and  implementation  of  the  EU  Charter  of 
Fundamental  Rights’  is  provided  under  Annex  III  of  the  CPR.  In  addition  to  Charter  HEC,  the  CPR  includes 
horizontal principles in Art. 9, requiring the respect for fundamental rights and compliance with the Charter by 
the Commission and Member States in the implementation of the funds. 
55 For  more  information  on  the  mechanisms  and  procedures  to  monitor  the  fulfilment  of  Charter  HEC,  see 
Charter strategy, p. 9, and 2024 Charter report, pp. 21 to 22. 
56 Consultation of Member States, questions 15 and 16. 

9 

 
 
 
authorities  and  bodies  in  ensuring  a  coherent  and  effective  implementation  of  the 
Charter HEC57. The Commission will translate the manual into the official EU languages to 
ensure  that  it  is  accessible  to  national  stakeholders.  The  Commission  will  also  explore 
whether further action is needed under the next MFF, such as capacity-building activities or 
the exchange of best practice. 

The Commission's proposal for the next MFF includes strong safeguards and incentives 
that  EU  funding  will  respect  the  Charter  and  the  rule  of  law58.  Compliance  with  the 
rule-of-law  principles  and  the  Charter  is  a  prerequisite  for  financial  support.  To  have  their 
national and regional plans approved, Member States will have to demonstrate that they have 
appropriate mechanisms in place to ensure compliance with the rule of law and Charter HEC 
throughout the implementation of the funds. 

3.  Empowering civil society organisations, rights defenders and justice practitioners 

3.1. Civil society 

The  Charter  strategy  highlights  the  indispensable  contribution  of  CSOs  and  human  rights 
defenders to ensuring that fundamental rights can be enjoyed by everyone. In the strategy, the 
Commission invited the Member States to promote a supportive and safe environment for 
CSOs and human rights defenders in their country, also at local level59. 

The Commission dedicated the 2022 Charter report to a thriving civic space60 in which it 
described  the  role  of  CSOs,  human  rights  defenders,  NHRIs,  equality  bodies  and 
ombudspeople in supporting the application of the Charter, mapped the measures taken at EU 
and national levels to protect, support and empower them, and identified challenges, gaps and 
areas of improvement in this regard. The report noted a further narrowing of the civic space 
across the EU61 with threats and harassment reported by CSOs, human rights defenders and 
their members62. 

To follow up on the 2022 Charter report, the Commission organised a series of seminars  on 
the  measures  needed  to  further  empower,  protect  and  support  civil  society,  which  was 
concluded  with  a  high-level  event  in  November  202363.  A  final  report64 recommended  that 
Member States and EU institutions commit to the protection, promotion and support of a civic 
space  in  the  EU.  These  conclusions  fed  into  a  Commission  Recommendation  in  2023  on 
promoting  the  engagement  and  effective  participation  of  citizens  and  civil  society 
organisations  in  public  policymaking  processes65.  In  line  with  this  Recommendation,  the 

57 Manual on Fundamental Rights in EU Funding.  
58 COM(2025) 46, p. 12. 
59 Member States report having put in place civil society policies and refer to national funding opportunities and 
legislation protecting the freedom of association and expression. Consultation of Member States, question 17. 
60 COM/2022/716, pp. 7-12. Also 2025 Rule of Law Report, pp. 29-30. 
61 Civil  society  |  European  Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights,  Civic  space  |  OECD,  Civicus  Civic  space 
monitor, Civic forum. Also 2025 Rule of Law Report, p. 30. 
62 FRA, Protecting civil society – Update 2023, p. 3; COM/2022/716, p. 13. 
63 A thriving civic space for upholding fundamental rights in the EU: a framework for future action. 
64 Final Report - A thriving civic space for upholding fundamental rights in the EU | European Commission. 
65 Commission Recommendation (EU) 2023/2836.  

10 

 
 
 
Commission  has  developed  tools  to  involve  citizens  in  its  policymaking,  in  particular  the 
European  Citizens  Panels,  which  could  inspire  national  and  local  governments  to  establish 
their  own  citizen  engagement  strategies.  In  2024,  the  Commission  also  adopted  two 
Directives on minimum standards for the functioning of equality bodies to improve their 
effectiveness and guarantee their independence66. 

Building on these initiatives and responding to calls from civil society, on 12 November 2025, 
the  Commission  adopted  the  EU  Strategy  for  Civil  Society67.  The  strategy  puts  in  place  a 
framework  to  foster  engagement  with,  and  to  protect,  support  and  ensure  sustainable  and 
transparent funding of CSOs at EU and national levels. The Commission will set up a Civil 
Society  Platform  to  step  up  its  engagement  with  civil  society  organisations  working  on 
fundamental rights and other EU value-based policies. The Commission also invites Member 
States to involve  civil  society  in  Charter-related  activities  at  national  level to ensure the 
exchange of information and mutual capacity building68.  

The Commission also committed to supporting an enabling environment for civil society, in 
particular  through  funding  from  the  CERV  programme69.  Between  2022  and  2025,  over 
EUR 1.3 billion have been granted to  actors who contribute to the application of the values 
enshrined in Article 2 TEU and the Charter70. 

In  July  2025,  the  Commission  adopted  its  proposal  for  a  new  AgoraEU  funding 
programme to continue funding the promotion and protection of fundamental rights through 
its Democracy, Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (‘CERV+’) strand from 2028 to 203471. 
Under the new MFF, working together with national budgets and complementing other efforts 
at European and national level, the European Union will support civil society in advancing the 
application  of  the  Charter,  including  through  the  proposed  AgoraEU  programme  and  the 
Justice programme72 once adopted. 

Lastly,  the  Commission  invited  civil  society  networks 73  to  strengthen  their  capacity-
building efforts by cooperating on Charter training and sharing practice, building on the 

66 Council Directive (EU) 2024/1499 and Directive (EU) 2024/1500.  
67 COM (2025) 790 final. 
68 Of the consulted CSOs, 70% were unaware of actions to empower civil society taken by the national, regional 
or local authorities. Several referred to governments actively intimidating civil society. They generally saw a gap 
between  strategies  and  tangible  action  taken  by  their  Member  States.  Consultation  of  CSOs,  question  8.  For 
national policies to empower the civic space, see Civic space | OECD. 
69 See more information on the programme; the 2024 Charter report, pp. 5-9; SWD/2025/133. 
70 Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme - Performance - European Commission. Further information 
on how EU funding programmes have helped to apply the Charter is made available in the 2024 Charter report. 
See also, Council conclusions of 7 March 2025. Under annual CHAR-LITI calls for proposals, funding has been 
provided  for  capacity-building  and  awareness-raising  on  the  Charter,  empowering  the  civic  space,  strategic 
litigation, combating hate speech and hate crime and protecting whistleblowers have been funded; EU Funding 
&  Tenders  Portal).  Under  the  Union  Values  strand  of  the  CERV  programme,  the  Commission  has  supported 
European networks, civil society organisations and think tanks in applying the Charter. 
71 Proposal for a Regulation establishing the ‘AgoraEU’ programme for the period 2028-2034. 
72 Proposal for a Regulation establishing the Justice programme for the period 2028-2034. 
73 Referring  to  networks  such  as  the  ENNHRI,  the  European  Network  of  Equality  Bodies  (Equinet)  and  the 
European Network of Ombudsmen, and networks addressing the needs of specific groups. 

11 

 
 
 
support and tools  developed by the  Commission and the FRA74. It  noted that CSOs,  human 
rights  defenders  and  NHRIs,  equality  bodies  and  ombudspeople  are  well-placed  to  share 
information  and  help  people  access  judicial  protection  when  their  fundamental  rights  are 
violated 75 .  Effective  judicial  protection  and  strategic  litigation,  in  particular,  can 
contribute  to  the  effective  enforcement  of  fundamental  rights  and  the  Commission  has 
funded several projects to build civil society’s capacity to carry out strategic litigation on the 
basis of the Charter76. 

To further strengthen the implementation of the above commitments, the Commission invites 
CSOs,  human  rights  defenders,  and  NHRIs,  equality  bodies  and  ombudspeople  to 
strengthen  their  efforts  to  cooperate  and  share  practice  on  the  Charter.  It  furthermore 
invites those stakeholders, as well as justice practitioners and beneficiaries of EU funding to 
share  case  law  and  other  good  practice  on  the  Charter  with  the  FRA77 to  support  the 
updating of the Charterpedia database. 

3.2. The role of National Human Rights Institutions  

The  second  strand  of  the  Charter  strategy  highlights  the  importance  of  strong  and 
independent NHRIs. With broad mandates that cover all fundamental rights, NHRIs have a 
unique role in ensuring that fundamental rights are safeguarded by state actors, and in creating 
links  between  governments  and  civil  society 78.  In  the  Charter  strategy,  the  Commission 
therefore invited those Member States that have not set up an independent NHRI to do so. It 
also invited the other Member States to ensure that NHRIs are given the tools and means to 
comply  with  the  United  Nations  Paris  principles 79 ,  and  to  refer  to  the  Charter  in  their 
mandates. It took note of the role of the ENNHRI in helping Member States to achieve and 
maintain A-status accreditation of their NHRIs80, in particular, through coordinating capacity 
building and sharing practice on the Charter. 

After the adoption of the Charter strategy, five additional NHRIs have been accredited with 
A-status  (in  Austria,  Cyprus,  Estonia,  Slovenia  and  Sweden) 81 and  progress  towards  the 
establishment  of  an  accredited  NHRI  has  been  made  in  Czechia  and  Romania82.  ENNHRI 
helps  the  designated  institutions  to  achieve  and  raise  their  accreditation  through  technical 
advice and consultation.  The Commission monitors the situation of ombudspersons, NHRIs, 
equality bodies and other independent authorities in its Rule of law reports under the pillar on 
‘other institutional issues linked to checks and balances’. 

74 See  consultation  of  the  ENNHRI,  the  European  Network  of  Equality  Bodies  (Equinet)  and  the  European 
Network of Ombudsmen and their members (fundamental rights bodies), question 10. 
75 Only 30% of fundamental rights bodies report using the Charter to provide information on available remedies 
or victim support, and 30% report using the Charter in  (strategic) litigation; consultation of fundamental rights 
bodies, question 3(d). 
76 Between  2022  and  2024,  EUR  15  million has  been  issued  to  fund  35  projects  on  the  Charter  and  strategic 
litigation under the CERV programme. 
77 Through Charter@fra.europa.eu.  
78 COM(2024) 800, p. 32. 
79 Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions (The Paris Principles) | OHCHR, CM/Rec(2021)1. 
80 NHRIs assessed as fully complying with the UN Paris principles are accredited with A-status. 
81 Membership - GANHRI, Our Members - ENNHRI. 
82 Consultation contribution by ENNHRI, pp. 9-10. 

12 

 
 
 
Following  the  adoption  of  the  Charter  strategy,  ENNHRI  and  the  NHRIs  have  been 
increasingly involved in supporting the application of the Charter83. ENNHRI organises 
capacity  building  for  the  Charter  and  contributes,  together  with  its  members,  to  preparing 
legislation and policies that touch upon fundamental rights and the founding values84. 

To support their efforts, the Commission will consider the need for additonal guidance as 
regards the role of NHRIs role under EU law, including in the application of the Charter, 
and  how  Member  States  could  support  them.  The  Commission  will  continue  to  support 
NHRIs in applying the Charter, also through funding from the 2021-2027 CERV programme, 
and the proposed AgoraEU programme, once adopted. 

The Commission furthermore invites NHRIs, equality bodies and ombudspeople to continue 
to support the application of the Charter through dedicated activities in their Member States, 
including by providing information and advice to individuals on fundamental rights and 
legal remedies in case of fundamental rights violations. 

Further efforts  are needed  to  ensure that  NHRIs  can support  the Charter’s application  in  all 
Member States85. The Commission therefore invites the Member States to involve NHRIs 
in  consultation  processes  to  allow  them  to  contribute  meaningfully  to  the  assessment  of 
impacts  on  fundamental  rights  when  preparing  legislation  and  policy  in  areas  where  the 
Charter  applies.  It  also  invites  the  Member  States  to  develop  awareness-raising  and 
capacity-building  initiatives  for  the  Charter  at  national,  regional  and  local  levels,  by 
drawing on the shared knowledge of the NHRIs, human rights defenders, civil society, local 
and regional authorities and the government. 

3.3. Justice practitioners 

Judges  and  other  justice  practitioners  have  a  unique  role  in  ensuring  the  application  of 
fundamental  rights.  In  the  Charter  strategy,  the  Commission  committed  to  funding  Charter 
training  opportunities  for 
justice  practitioners  under  the  Justice 
programme86. In the Judicial  training  strategy  2021-2024, the Commission  specified that 

judges  and  other 

83 NHRIs  report  that  the  Charter  provides  added  value  by  strengthening  legal  arguments  and  advocacy  and 
supports the interpretation of EU legal standards.  The respondents report using the Charter in reporting (70%), 
training  courses  (61%),  raising  awareness  on  fundamental  rights  (83%),  complaints  handling  (61%),  advising 
state  actors  on  new  policies  (52%)  and  draft  legislation  (57%),  providing  information  on  remedies  or  victim 
support  (49%),  campaigning (48%)  and  in  litigation  or  strategic  litigation  (30%).  Consultation  of  fundamental 
rights bodies, questions 3, 4, and 5. 
84  Consultation  contribution  by  ENNHRI;  Action  plan  on  strengthening  the  application  of  the  Charter  of 
Fundamental Rights in the European Union (2021-2024); Activities of National Human Rights Institutions in the 
implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. 
85 On the challenges in meaningfully contributing to the preparation of legislation with impacts on fundamental 
rights, respondents refer to a lack of access to public documents or information (9%), a lack of interest from the 
authorities  in  cooperating  with  these  bodies  (22%),  a  lack  of  structured  coordination  channels  (30%),  limited 
knowledge of the relevance of the Charter (35%) and overall workload and priorities (43%); consultation of the 
fundamental rights bodies, question 20; Consultation contribution by ENNHRI, p. 3. 
86 The funding consisted of action grants (amounting to about EUR 4 million annually), an operating grant to the 
EJTN of about EUR 11.2 million annually, and procurement (less than EUR 1 million annually). About 36% of 
the  programme  budget,  i.e.  about  EUR 15  to  16  million  annually,  is  attributed  to  judicial  training.  The 
Commission  also  supports  the  activities  of  ERA,  which  raises  awareness  among  the  members  of  the  judiciary 

13 

 
 
 
 
justice professionals should receive dedicated training on the Charter, its scope of application 
and the specific fundamental rights, as well as its relation with national law and the European 
Convention on Human Rights87. 

The  Charter  is  increasingly  referred  to  by  national  courts88.  The  number  of  requests  for 
preliminary rulings  referring to the Charter has increased annually from 2020 onwards, 
reaching 128 requests in 202489. According to the consultations of justice practitioners carried 
out in support of this review, the Charter is considered to add value as an additional legal 
standard to constitutional provisions and international human rights obligations, in particular, 
in  migration and asylum cases  and in  the application of  the EU legislation on  the European 
Arrest  Warrant,  data  protection,  child  protection  and  taxation.  The  responding  justice 
professionals  also  refer  to  applying  the  Charter’s  procedural  rights  (Articles  47-50)90.  Yet, 
practitioners report on certain difficulties which they encounter to determine the applicability 
of the Charter 91. 

Judicial training on the Charter has yet to reach a larger number of justice practitioners92. 
The  most  commonly  cited  reasons  for  not  participating  in  such  training  are  lack  of 
awareness 93  or  insufficient  training  opportunities  at  national  and  EU  level 94 .  The 
Commission  will  continue  to  support  judicial  training  on  the  Charter, also  through the 
proposed  Justice  programme  under  the  new  MFF,  once  adopted95.    The  Commission  also 
invites  Member  States  to  ensure  that  initial  and  continuous  judicial  training  on  the 
Charter is provided in their national languages. 

In the Charter strategy, the Commission also committed to supporting the development of an 
e-learning  tool  for  judges.  In  December  2025,  it  will  publish  the  ‘e-capsules  on  EU  law’, 
short online training courses that summarise the main features of EU law on over 40 topics, 
including  the  Charter 96.  In  early  2026,  the  Commission  will  also  publish  53  free  online 
learning  courses  on  the  Charter  that  introduce  each  substantive  article  and  the  general 

and lawyers on the application of the Charter. The  role of the Charter is examined in  ERA’s  training courses, 
including each year from 2021 to 2025. Further information is provided in COM/2024/456, p. 10. 
87 COM/2020/713, p. 2. 
88  FRA,  2024  Fundamental  Rights  Report,  at  122;  2023  Fundamental  Rights  Report,  p.  45;  and  2022 
Fundamental Rights Report, p. 37. 
89 FRA, 2025 Fundamental Rights Report, p. 94. 
90 Consultation of justice practitioners, question 16. 
91 The difficulties raised by the legal professionals who indicated that they apply the Charter only rarely (23%) or 
never  (20%)  relate  to determining  the  Charter’s  applicability  to  a  concrete  case  (7.5%), lack  of  time  to verify 
applicability  (8.5%)  and  lack  of  added  value  in  comparison  to  the  ECHR  (3%);  consultation  of  justice 
practitioners,  questions  15  and  17.  73.4%  of  respondents  did  not  answer  these  questions,  which  affects  the 
conclusiveness of the results. 
92 29% of responding justice practitioners report having participated in in-person training on the Charter and 21% 
in online training; consultation of justice practitioners, questions 4 and 6. 
93 54%; consultation of justice practitioners, question 6 b. 
94 Respectively by 57% at national level and by 34% at EU level; consultation of justice practitioners, question 
10. Of the  responding training organisations,  61% consider the training  opportunities sufficient at the national 
level and 89% at EU level. 
95 COM(2025) 463 final; COM(2025)801. 
96 Also ‘Training videos for the judiciary and lawyers on the mission, jurisdiction and procedures of the Court of 
Justice of the European Union’. 

14 

 
 
 
provisions  of  the  Charter  in  sessions  of  30  minutes.  A  supplementary  written  manual  will 
summarise the relevant case law on each article. The courses are addressed to national and EU 
civil  servants.  All  the  above  training  will  be  publicly  available  on  the  ‘European  training 
platform’ of the European e-Justice Portal. 

To ensure the availability of information on the Charter, the Commission invited networks of 
judges and other justice  practitioners  to  cooperate  on  training  and  the  sharing  of  good 
practices  on  the  application  of  the  Charter, building  on support and tools  offered by the 
Commission,  the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) and  the  FRA.  The awareness 
and  use  of  these  materials  have,  however,  remained  low97.  This  reflects  a  further  need  for 
practical guidance and case-law information on the Charter, such as databases and fact sheets, 
as well as exchanges of best practices on the Charter’s application and the translation of key 
materials into national languages98. The Commission will therefore continue to raise justice 
professionals’  awareness  of  the  existing  online  training  resources  on  the  Charter  in 
cooperation  with  the  FRA  and  invites  judicial  training  institutions  to  use  these  resources  in 
their  training  provision.  It  also  invites  Member  States  to  share  information  on  existing 
Charter  training  opportunities  and  online  tools  with  the  judiciary,  while  ensuring  due 
respect for judicial independence. The Commission will also  increase the accessibility of its 
new online courses on the Charter and continue to provide information about the Charter and 
its application on its website. 

The Commission recognised that the digitalisation of justice has the potential to improve the 
capacity  of  courts  to  deal  effectively  with  fundamental  rights  issues 99 and  is  accordingly 
supporting Member States' digitalisation efforts. At the same time, the digitalisation of justice 
must be carried out in a manner that ensures respect for fundamental rights, also by ensuring 
that  in-person  trials  are  available  to  parties  who  need  them  to  effectively  exercise  their 
fundamental rights100. 

4.  Fostering the use of the Charter as a compass for EU institutions 

In the Charter strategy, the Commission highlights that compliance with the Charter is central 
to the sustainability of EU legislation. It committed to assessing the Charter compliance of 
key  initiatives  that  could  have  a  major  impact  on  fundamental  rights  from  the  preparatory 
stage and throughout the decision-making process101. 

97 Justice practitioners report having used the Charter tutorial on the e-Justice portal (16% of respondents), the 
Charterpedia  (7.5%),  the  FRA’s  Charter  handbooks  (13.8%)  and  the  FRA’s  and  the  Council  of  Europe’s 
Handbooks on the Charter and the ECHR (19.15%). 59% of the respondents have not used any of the available 
training tools; consultation of justice practitioners, question 7. 
98 Consultation of justice practitioners, question 11. 
99 COM(2025)801 final; COM(2025)802 final, p. 2. 
100 COM(2023) 786 final, Effective legal protection and access to justice, p. 5. 
101 These  commitments  follow  continuous  efforts  to  inform  EU  staff  on  fundamental  rights  requirements,  see 
COM/2010/057. 

15 

 
 
 
To better assist EU staff when assessing impacts on fundamental rights, the Commission has 
updated the guidance for its staff on  applying the Charter in impact assessments102 and 
will disseminate it as a source of information for policymakers at national and local level, as 
committed to in the strategy. In addition to the regular Better Regulation training sessions, the 
Commission  has  developed  a  dedicated  training  course  on  ‘the  EU  Charter  of 
Fundamental Rights in impact assessments’ to train EU staff on the Charter and guide them 
in  assessing  impacts  of  legislative  proposals  on  fundamental  rights  in  line  with  the  Better 
Regulation rules103. The FRA has also offered advice to EU institutions and Member States on 
the  assessing  the  impacts  of  draft  legislation  and  policies  on  fundamental  rights.  The 
Commission’s online courses on the Charter contain advice for EU staff on how to ensure 
compliance with fundamental rights when formulating legislative initiatives. 

The Commission relies on input from stakeholders when preparing its initiatives, including 
with respect to mainstreaming the Charter into its policies and proposals104. Civil society 
is  also  involved  through  a  range  of  decentralised  forms  of  structured  dialogue  and 
consultations and participates in numerous Commission expert groups. The new EU Strategy 
for Civil Society establishes a common framework to guide and strengthen the Commission’s 
engagement with civil society organisations.  

The Commission’s Task Force on Equality105 works to ensure the mainstreaming of equality 
considerations  into  all  initiatives.  The  Task  Force  has  developed  processes  to  guide 
Commission staff in ensuring that EU policies, legislation and funding programmes promote 
equality between women and men and combat discrimination. It has also provided training to 
staff  on  equality  mainstreaming 106.  In  addition,  the  Union  of  equality  strategies  help  to 
translate equality and non-discrimination into policy actions107.  

102 C(2025)  8354.  The  guidance  supplements  Tool  No.  29  of  the  Better  Regulation  Toolbox  on  ‘Fundamental 
rights,  including  the promotion  of  equality’.  Following  Tool  No.  29,  all  Commission  acts  and  initiatives  must 
comply with the Charter. 
103 The course takes place online four times a year. In 2023 and 2024, approximatively 170 EU staff members 
were trained in eight training courses. The four training courses of 2025 are ongoing. 
104 Including through the Have your say - Public Consultations and Feedback portal and targeted consultations. 
The portal has been updated into a single entry point for public consultations, the European Citizens’ Initiative 
and an interactive debate platform. 
105 It consists of representatives from Commission services and the European External Action Service, supported 
by a secretariat. 
106 By November 2024, the Task Force had organised 23 training sessions for Commission staff and contributed 
to increased awareness raising activities. 
107 Equality and inclusion: key actions  - European Commission. In October 2025, the Commission adopted  the 
2026-2030  LGBTIQ  equality  strategy.  The  strategy  builds  on  the  previous  one  to  set  common  objectives, 
provide  guidance,  and  strengthen  coordination.  The  Roadmap  for  Women’s  Rights,  adopted  in  March  2025, 
includes  commitments  on  equality  between  women  and  men  in  line  with  Article 23  of  the  Charter.  The  2026-
2030 Gender Equality Strategy will build upon the Roadmap, presenting measures to promote gender equality. 
The EU anti-racism action plan 2020-2025 will be followed by the new EU anti-racism strategy 2026-2030. The 
action plan confirms that measures to combat discrimination, racism, xenophobia and other types of intolerance 
rests  on  an  established  EU  legal  framework,  including  equality  and  non-discrimination  as  provided  for  in 
Article 20  and  21  of  the  Charter.  The  same  is  highlighted  in  the  EU  Roma  strategic  framework  for  equality, 
inclusion and participation for 2020-2030 in relation to action to fight antigypsyism and discrimination against 
Roma. The mid-term report on its implementation, published in 2024, highlights compliance with the Charter as 
a horizontal principle. See also EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life (2021 - 2030). 

16 

 
 
 
Human rights conventions to which the EU is a party108 furthermore guide the use of the 
Charter  by  EU  institutions,  as  the  EU  is  obliged  to  comply  with  their  standards  in  its  law-
making. EU accession thus strengthens the implementation of the Charter in the policy areas 
covered by these conventions109. The EU’s accession process to the European Convention of 
Human  Rights has also continued110 with a view to ensuring that fundamental rights in the 
EU are subject to additional external scrutiny.  

To develop Charter mainstreaming throughout the EU’s legislative process, the Commission 
invited also the European Parliament and the Council to use the tools at their disposal111 
to  ensure  that  the  Charter  is  applied  effectively.  Council  Presidencies  have  organised 
training on the application of the Charter to Council staff and Member State delegations. In 
2024, the training focused on the role of each institution in assessing impact on fundamental 
rights  when  carrying  out  impact  assessments.  To  further  strengthen  this  work,  the 
Commission  encourages  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  to  organise 
exchanges of best practice  to ensure that the Charter is respected throughout the legislative 
cycle. It invites the Council to continue raising awareness of its guidance on fundamental 
rights compliance in the Council’s working parties. 

In  line  with  the  Charter  strategy,  the  Commission  has  continued  to  ensure  that  the  EU’s 
internal  and  external  actions  to  promote  and  protect  fundamental  rights  are  coherent 
and  mutually  reinforcing.  In  2020,  it  adopted  the  EU  Action  Plan  on  Human  Rights  and 
Democracy for the period 2020-2024112. The plan guides the EU’s bilateral and multilateral 
human rights work and is aligned with the Charter113. 

At the multilateral level, the EU engages with the United Nations Human Rights Council, the 
Third Committee and the General Assembly, and supports the mandate and independence of 
the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Since 2020, the EU has carried out over 60 human 
rights dialogues and consultations with third parties114. 

108 Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating  violence against women and domestic violence 
(EU accession to the Istanbul Convention | EUR-Lex). The Istanbul Convention became the second international 
human  rights  convention  that  the  EU  acceded  to,  following  the  United  Nations  Convention  on  the  Rights  of 
Persons with Disabilities (Decision - 2010/48 - EN - EUR-Lex) (UNCRPD). 
109 In particular its Article 21 on non-discrimination, Article 23 on equality between women and men and Article 
26  on  integration  of  persons  with  disabilities.  The  Strategy  on  the  rights  of  persons  with  disabilities  contains 
actions to implement the UNCRPD in the EU in line with the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities. 
110 Request for an opinion pursuant to Article 218(11) TFEU of 21 November 2025. 
111 Such as, Council guidelines on fundamental rights compliance checks, Doc. 5377/15 of 20 January 2015, or 
Rule  40  of  the  European  Parliament’s  Rules  of  Procedure  and  the  Interinstitutional  agreement  on  better  law-
making (OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, pp. 12-15). 
112 The  EU  reports  on  the  implementation  of  the  action  plan  in  the  Annual  Reports  on  Human  Rights  and 
Democracy in the World. See, for instance, 2024 Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World. 
It uses all tools at its disposal to implement it, including the EU Human Rights Guidelines, Council Conclusions, 
demarches, strategic communications and human rights dialogues. 
113 In 2023, a mid-term review concluded that the action plan had been effective in guiding the external human 
rights and democracy actions. As a result, in 2024, the action plan was extended until December 2027. The EU 
extends its Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy until 2027. 
114 The  Commission has been supported by the FRA, which has provided examples of how the EU safeguards 
the Charter. 

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In  line  with  its  commitment  to  take  the  Charter  into  account  when  preparing  and 
negotiating  trade  and  investment  agreements,  the  EU  has  continued  to  monitor  non-EU 
countries’ compliance with international standards on human rights115. The EU implements its 
trade policy, including the trade and sustainable development chapters of its trade agreements, 
guided by the 2022 Communication on the ‘Power of trade partnerships: together for green 
and just economic  growth’116 and the 2022 Communication on ”decent  work worldwide”117. 
The  Commission  has  continued  to  examine  stakeholder  complaints  regarding  partners'  non-
compliance with commitments undertaken by parties to trade agreements118.  

The Commission has also continued to support enlargement countries in aligning with EU 
fundamental  rights  standards.  Candidate  countries  need  to  gradually  align  with  the 
provisions of the Charter, in view of achieving full alignment by the date of accession.  The 
Commission provides support in the form of financial and technical assistance in this regard 
and monitors progress through the annual enlargement package119.  

Candidate countries and countries with an association agreement can request observer status 
at  the  FRA  to  help  them  align  their  legislation  and  policies  with  the  fundamental  rights 
acquis.  Albania,  North  Macedonia  and  Serbia  currently  have  observer  status  and  further 
candidate countries have expressed their interest in obtaining it120. 

5.  Strengthening people’s awareness of their rights under the Charter 

The  last  strand  of  the  Charter  strategy  focuses  on  public  awareness.  A  Eurobarometer 
survey  on  Charter  knowledge,  carried  out  in  spring  2025121,  indicates  that  49%  of  people 
had hear about the Charter122, which shows modest progress since 2019. However, only 12% 
of  respondents  felt  well  informed  about  their  rights  under  the  Charter,  indicating  a  further 
need  to  raise  awareness.  Respondents  are  interested  in  hearing  more  about  where  to  turn  in 
cases of breach of their rights (64%)123, the content of the Charter (62%) and when it applies 

115 Generalised  Scheme  of  Preferences.  The  work  is  carried  out  under  the  Special  Incentive  Arrangement  for 
Sustainable  Development  and  Good  Governance  (GSP+)  and  through  engagement  under  the  'Everything  But 
Arms'  arrangement.  In  addition,  respecting,  promoting  and  putting  into  practice  the  International  Labour 
Organization’s  principles  on  fundamental  rights  at  work  is  part  of  the  commitments  taken  by  parties  to  trade 
agreements.  These  relate  to  ensuring  the  freedom  of  association  and  the  right  to  collective  bargaining, 
elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour, abolition of child labour, elimination of discrimination 
in employment and occupation, and a safe and healthy working environment.  
116 COM/2022/409. 
117 COM/2022/66. 
118 Single Entry Point | Access2Markets. 
119 The  Commission expects the Enlargement policy partners to set up institutions and frameworks that mirror 
those required for Member States. It assesses the state of play and the progress made. 
120 Participating as an observer in the FRA is beneficial, for example, for improving data collection, training and 
capacity building. 
121 Special Eurobarometer 563; the survey is based on interviews of 26 319 people across the EU. 
122 Knowledge of the Charter has increased in 24 out of 27 Member States compared to the 2019 survey (Special 
Eurobarometer 487b). Malta (+24 percentage points), Cyprus (+17 pp.) and Hungary (+15 pp.) saw the largest 
increase  in  knowledge.  Numbers  declined  in  Austria  (-4  pp.)  and  Romania  (-3  pp.),  while  they  remained 
unchanged  in  Greece.  This  constitutes  a  6  pp.  increase  in  comparison  with  2019  and  a  10  pp.  increase  in 
comparison with the earliest available data from 2012. 
123 A 3 pp. increase compared with the 2019 survey. 

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(62%)124. 

Effective  legal  protection  is  essential,  as  it  allows  individuals  to  assert  their  fundamental 
rights. The 2025 Eurobarometer survey shows that if their Charter rights were violated, 23 % 
of  people  would  complain  to  the  police,  followed  by  21 %  who  would  turn  to  an  EU 
institution,  and  18 %  who  would  turn  to  a  national  court.  Only  5 %  would  contact  a  civil 
society organisation. These results differ only slightly from the 2019 survey. 

As early as the 2010 strategy, the Commission noted how difficult it was for people to know 
the  appropriate  legal  remedies  in  cases  where  the  Charter  is  violated.  The  Commission 
receives  on  average  1 500  letters  from  citizens  per  year  on  fundamental  rights  violations, 
which mostly relate to situations for which it has no competence because those situations have 
no  connection  to  EU  law.  Since  Member  States  have  a  primary  responsibility  to  provide 
remedies in individual cases, in the Charter strategy, the Commission invited them to develop 
initiatives  to  promote  people’s  awareness  of  their  Charter  rights  and  of  where  to  turn  when 
their rights are breached, in particular, by empowering local representatives. Such initiatives 
remain  however  largely  unknown  to  the  public125.  There  is  thus  potential  to  provide  the 
public  with  more  information  on  how  to  find  effective  remedies.  The  Commission 
therefore  invites  the  Member  States  to  work  with  independent  fundamental  rights 
institutions and civil society to share information on fundamental rights and the remedies 
available in cases of fundamental rights violations at all levels. 

In the Charter strategy, the Commission also highlighted the vital role of local authorities in 
raising awareness of the Charter. Local and regional authorities are well-placed to organise 
awareness-raising  initiatives,  including  information  campaigns,  community  engagement 
activities, training for local officials and educational outreach such as ‘Charter Days’. Even if 
this potential is currently underused126, these efforts remain relevant for bringing the Charter 
closer to people. 

The Commission also took note of the importance of explaining fundamental rights to people 
through real-life stories. From 2021 to 2022, it carried out an awareness-raising campaign to 
inform  people  about  their  Charter  rights127.  In  2025,  to  mark  the  25th  anniversary  of  the 

124 A 1 pp. increase compared with the 2019 survey. Only 11% of respondents could define when the  Charter 
applies, i.e. when EU institutions act and when Member States implement EU law. This nevertheless presents an 
improvement  compared  with  the  7%  in  the  2019  survey.  Special  Eurobarometer  563,  pp.  18,  35;  Special 
Eurobarometer 487b, p. 15. 
125 92%  of  the  responding  focal  points  mention  sharing  information  and  best  practice  on  the  Charter,  but  no 
information  is  available  on  providing  information  to  the  public.  Only  20%  of  responding  civil  society 
organisations report promoting the Charter by providing information on available remedies; consultation of civil 
society, question 20. 
126 Consultation of local and regional authorities, questions 12 and 13, where 4% of respondents report having 
carried out communication activities on fundamental rights with their community, and 6% with local politicians.  
127 #RightHereRightNow.  The  campaign  covered  five  fundamental  rights    with  focus  audiences  from  the  age 
groups 15-24 and 25-39 in CY, MT, NL, and SE. Individuals exposed to the campaign were 30% more likely to 
know about the Charter and 14.85% more likely to be aware of the EU’s role in protecting fundamental rights. 

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Charter’s  proclamation, the Commission runs a social media  campaign to raise awareness 
about the individual Charter articles and what fundamental rights mean to people128.  

The  Erasmus+  programme  has  also  supported  projects  on  fundamental  rights  and 
communicating  Charter  rights  to  young  people129.  In  addition,  fundamental  values  and 
human  rights  education  is  a  key  part  of  the  global  citizenship  education  agenda  in  the 
Development education and awareness-raising (DEAR) programme130. 

In the Charter strategy, the Commission also committed to raising children’s awareness  of 
their rights under the EU Strategy on the rights of the child131. The strategy, adopted in 2021, 
was developed with and for children to bring EU policies and legislation closer to children132. 
Children  also  contributed  to  drafting  guidelines  on  making  documents  simpler  and  more 
accessible 133 .  Since  the  EU  Children’s  Participation  Platform  was  set  up  in  2022 134 , 
children have been consulted on selected policy initiatives and involved in ‘translating’ these 
initiatives into child-friendly formats. 

To further strengthen the provision of information and awareness raising on the Charter, the 
Commission  will  continue  funding  such  efforts  at  national,  local  and  regional  levels 
through  the  CERV  programme  and  its  successor,  the  proposed  AgoraEU  programme’s 
CERV+  strand,  once  adopted;  and  by  carrying  out  its  own  awareness  raising,  including 
communication activities and a conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Charter. 

6.  Conclusion 

A  quarter  of  a  century  after  its  proclamation,  the  Charter  firmly  guides  EU  policies  and 
legislation  and  their  implementation  and  application  in  the  Member  States.  This  mid-
term  review  shows  that  most  of  the  policy  commitments  in  the  Charter  strategy  have  been 
fulfilled. The Commission has strengthened cooperation with Member States, supported civil 
society and independent fundamental rights bodies, promoted judicial training, and reinforced 
the use of the Charter in the legislative processes. The consultations carried out for this review 
furthermore confirm that stakeholders across the EU are taking meaningful action in line with 
the strategy. 

At  the  same  time,  challenges  in  ensuring  the  effective  application  of  the  Charter  remain. 
Awareness of the Charter among public authorities, professionals and the wider public needs 
to be improved.  Sustained capacity-building, improved access to information, and monitoring 
and enforcement remain essential to ensuring that the Charter is consistently implemented and 
applied  at  all  levels.  In  particular,  efforts  should  focus  on  scaling  up  the  provision  of 
information  and  training  so  that  many  more  civil  servants,  civil  society  stakeholders  and 

128 EU Rights | LinkedIn; EU Justice and Consumers | Facebook. 
129 COM/2024/456 final, pp. 13-15. 
130 Projects – EU DEAR Programme. 
131 EU strategy on the rights of the child, COM/2021/142. 
132 See The European Union’s plan for children’s rights, an easy-to read version of the strategy for children. 
133 Creating child-friendly versions of written documents, a guide. 
134 EU  Children’s  Participation  Platform  |  European  Union.  The  Platform’s  website  provides  information  for 
children and about their rights in a child-centred and child-friendly way. The Platform promotes and puts into 
practice children’s right to be heard. 

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justice professionals can benefit from such measures and help increase the overall application 
of the Charter. This mid-term review sets out further measures in these areas. 

During the second half of the Charter strategy’s implementation, the Commission will further 
develop  its  annual  Charter  reports  and  take  strengthened  measures  to  support  the  Charter’s 
implementation  and  application  in  the  Member  States.  It  will  organise  the  work  of  Charter 
focal points as a Commission network to support them in ensuring effective coordination and 
cooperation on the application of the Charter and launch a mutual learning programme to help 
national  stakeholders  exchange  best  practice  on  the  Charter  at  all  levels.  Further  efforts  are 
likewise  needed  to  ensure  that  civil  society,  human  rights  defenders  and  independent 
fundamental rights bodies continue to be empowered to support the Charter’s application. The 
Commission will implement the actions under the EU Strategy for Civil Society and explore 
the need for additional guidance as regards the role of NHRIs under EU law.  

Determined action is needed to strengthen the respect for and protection of the Charter rights 
across all EU policy areas. Member States and other stakeholders are therefore encouraged to 
distribute this report at national, regional and local levels. Continued cooperation among EU 
institutions,  Member  States  and  other  stakeholders  is  required  to  ensure  that  the  Charter  is 
implemented and applied from 2026 to 2030 and beyond. 

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