Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 24 November 2020 - Brussels

Situation of Fundamental Rights in the European Union – Annual Report for the years 2018-2019 (debate)

  Karlo Ressler, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, after the fall of totalitarian and undemocratic regimes, Europe has come a long way in the protection and promotion of the fundamental rights of all citizens. Our human rights standards are today, with little doubt, the highest in the world. Violations of those rights, however, still exist in many different areas, especially among vulnerable groups such as women, children in poverty, and people with disabilities. Our responsibility is to clearly address this and suggest ways to improve their protection 10 years after the entry into force of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

This annual report is meant to monitor the progress of fundamental rights in Europe, showing how the Charter has been taken into account, but also identifying current trends and areas for further improvement.

The protection of universal human rights should certainly not be a point for ideological battles. Personal political convictions should not overshadow an inclusive and objective evaluation of human rights in Europe. A good example of this need for a universal and comprehensive approach is the issue of migration. We need to strongly support the fundamental right to seek asylum, but we cannot ignore the need to fight human smuggling or the need to comply with international and Union law. The protection of human rights should not be a topic for divisions on policy differences. On the contrary, this should be an opportunity for a strong and broad commitment to inalienable human dignity, otherwise we risk undermining the importance of human rights protection systems.