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During the March plenary session, oral questions will be asked to the Commission and Council on the state of negotiations on the proposed Parenthood Regulation, on which Parliament adopted its opinion in December 2023, and their willingness – in case of failure to reach unanimity in the Council – to use enhanced cooperation.

This analysis sets out the legal situation in the EU regarding surrogacy. A distinction can be drawn between traditional and gestational surrogacy, depending on the genetic connection of the surrogate to the child. A further distinction is made between altruistic and commercial surrogacy, depending on whether the surrogate receives remuneration. Among the Member States, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus and Portugal have introduced legislation permitting altruistic surrogacy, but for some of these the legislation ...

Hate speech and hate crime are incompatible with the European Union's common values and fundamental rights, as enshrined in the European Union (EU) Treaties and in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. EU law criminalises hate speech and hate crime, but only if it is related to a limited set of characteristics, namely: race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin. Legislative developments, case-law and policy initiatives have helped to create more equal and welcoming societies – including ...

LGBTI conversion 'therapies' are practices that can be defined as 'any treatment aimed at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity'. Ways to implement them include psychotherapy, medication, electroshock therapy, aversive treatments and exorcism. An alternative term used to describe these practices is sexual orientation and gender identity-expression change efforts (SOGIECE). They can bring about suicidal thoughts but also permanent physical harm, suicide attempts, depression, anxiety ...

During the European Parliament's November II plenary session, the European Commission is scheduled to make a statement, and Parliament to hold a debate, on recent legislation targeting LGBTI persons and the need for protecting the rule of law and a discrimination-free EU.

Every citizen of the Union has the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, subject to the limitations and conditions laid down in the EU Treaties. The Free Movement Directive (Directive 2004/38/EC), which sets out the conditions for exercising the right of free movement in the EU, only applies to EU citizens and their family members if they reside in a Member State of which they are not a national. There are, however, cases where this directive is still applicable ...

Citizenship by investment (CBI) and residence by investment (RBI) schemes allow third-country nationals to obtain residence or citizenship in a host country in exchange for a financial contribution. In the European Union (EU), these schemes erode the principles of sincere cooperation, fairness and non-discrimination. They commodify EU citizenship and residence rights and weaken vetting and due diligence systems, thereby posing risks of corruption, money laundering, security threats and tax avoidance ...

Employers in the EU face labour shortages in many sectors of the economy, a situation that could further deteriorate in the coming decades. In the context of a global race for talent, facilitating international recruitment is a priority for the EU. Announced on 27 April 2022, the European Commission launched an EU talent pool pilot initiative specifically addressed towards workers fleeing the war in Ukraine to facilitate their access to the EU labour market. On 15 November 2023, as part of the talent ...

People from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds face discrimination and its consequences on a daily basis. However, the exact scale of the problem is hard to gauge, owing to a lack of data and general under reporting of racist incidents. Although the European Union (EU) has been introducing legislation to combat racial and xenophobic discrimination since 2000, the problem persists. The global Black Lives Matter protests highlighted the need for new measures, while the COVID 19 pandemic saw a major ...

The prohibition of discrimination and the protection of human rights are important elements of the EU legal order. Nevertheless, discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people persists throughout the EU and takes various forms, including verbal abuse and physical violence. Sexual orientation is now recognised in EU law as grounds of discrimination. However, the scope of the provisions dealing with this issue is limited and does not cover social protection, ...