Answer given by Ms Jourová on behalf of the Commission

6.6.2018

The Commission is not in a position to comment on the specific issue raised by the Honourable Member.

The definition and application of rules governing the exercise of the right to freedom of assembly and the participation to or holding of demonstrations is a matter which pertains to the Member States only.

The Commission however recalls that the freedoms of expression, of assembly and of association are among the essential foundations of democratic societies, enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. A strong, independent and pluralistic civil society is the concrete expression of these freedoms.