Debate: Extending the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime
Date: WEDNESDAY, 17 JANUARY 2024
Speaker: Didier Reynders
Language: FR

Ces dernières semaines, nous avons assisté en Europe à des scènes que nous espérions ne plus jamais voir. En particulier, nous constatons une augmentation alarmante de l'antisémitisme, mais aussi de certains discours de haine envers les musulmans. La Commission a pris des mesures. Le 6 décembre dernier, nous avons adopté, avec le Haut représentant pour les affaires étrangères et la politique de sécurité, une communication conjointe intitulée «No Place for Hate». Cette communication met en avant une série de mesures visant à renforcer la protection des personnes et des lieux de culte et à lutter contre la prolifération des discours de haine en ligne. Permettez-moi de souligner quelques unes d'entre elles qui sont particulièrement pertinentes pour le débat d'aujourd'hui. First, it is more important than ever to ensure effective application of current EU rules relating to hate speech and hate crime, namely the 2008 framework decision on combating racism and xenophobia. One of my personal commitments was to ensure that Member States correctly transpose this framework decision into national law. This is important to ensure that all EU citizens across the Union have the same rights and can fully exercise them. The Commission launched 13 infringement procedures relating to gaps in transposition and, since 20 October 2020, 10 Member States have taken action to change their legislation. Yet the criminalisation of hate speech across the European Union remains fragmented, and the framework decision only covers racist and xenophobic grounds. In December 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council decision to include hate speech and hate crime in the list of EU crimes in Article 83 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. If the decision is adopted, the Commission would be able to propose a common approach to the criminalisation of hate speech and hate crime, ensuring a consistent protection of all victims of such acts across the European Union. While the Council had not yet reached the needed unanimity, the recent resurgence of hate speech and hate crime underlines the imperative for rapid adoption of this Council decision. We welcome the strong support and the commitment of the European Parliament for this initiative. We notably welcome the adoption of your report on this file. I would like to thank in particular the LIBE Committee and their rapporteur, Maite Pagazaurtundúa, for their commitment. Our recent joint communication also focuses on the need to respond to the threats of hate speech online. Since 2016, we have a code of conduct in place which aims to keep platforms accountable for curbing hate speech on their services. This code has been a success. According to the data we collect in our yearly monitoring exercise, content moderation has significantly improved, although a slight slowdown has been noted recently. But the digital landscape has evolved in the last years, in particular after the entry into force of the Digital Services Act in November 2022. The DSA requires all online platforms to have in place notice and action systems to allow for user reports on illegal content, including hate speech. Codes of conduct will continue to be an important tool under the DSA, in particular as part of the platform’s response to systemic risks. This is why we are advancing fast towards the adoption of a revised code of conduct. The main objective of the revision is to improve its preventive capability and help anticipate rising threats of hate speech before they go viral. I am confident that the negotiations will be concluded soon and that the new code will also be granted the status of a DSA code of conduct. Our December communication also recalls the importance of advancing on tackling antisemitism by intensifying the implementation of the 2021-2030 EU strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, the EU anti-racism action plan 2020-2025, as well as of the other equality strategies. After the attack by Hamas against Israel of 7 October and the war that ensued, antisemitic incidents have spiked both online and offline. Today, many European Jews are again living in fear, and some even feel obliged to hide their identity. At the same time, we have seen some increase in anti-Muslim hatred and indeed a general rise in hate speech, notably online. Combating racism and discrimination, countering negative stereotypes and ensuring equality in societies through positive action continues to be central. We are stepping up our efforts to fight hatred in all its forms by reinforcing action across a variety of policies, including security, digital, education, culture and sport. Finally, the joint communication provides that the Commission’s coordinators on combating antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and on combating racism will be upgraded to envoys, with a view to maximising the potential of EU policies to combat hatred. I thank you for your commitment to fight with us against all those forms of hate speech and hate crime, and I will be pleased to listen to your remarks and your proposal during this debate.