Parliament demands a robust and multifaceted approach to combat all forms of racism and discrimination, including structural and institutional racism, in the EU.
In a resolution adopted on Thursday with 442 votes in favour, 114 against, and 42 abstentions, Parliament strongly condemns that minorities and migrants, including LGBTQI persons, face structural racism, discrimination, hate, sustained inequalities, difficulties in accessing the justice system, and violence by the police. It also warns against the racist rhetoric of certain media and is alarmed by how conspiracy theories, such as the so-called “Great Replacement Theory”, are mainstreamed into the political speech by the extreme right. The text zooms in on specific issues, such as:
- structural racism against children, and the cycle of poverty that affects them;
- Roma equality and the lack of recognition of antigypsyism as a specific form of racism;
- the decreasing Jewish population in Europe, where 38% of European Jews are considering leaving due to concerns for their safety;
- female genital mutilation, marital captivity and “honour crimes”; and
- intergenerational poverty and exclusion of women of African descent or other racialized backgrounds.
AI could help reduce the impact of human biases, but MEPs remain concerned by the risks of reinforcing existing discrimination in the absence of appropriate safeguards. They demand an end to profiling, while reminding that EU law bans any practice that results in discrimination on the basis of sensitive personal data. All member states need to properly implement the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia, which remains unenforced in several countries 14 years from its adoption. Racist hate crime and hate speech have to be criminalised at EU level by the Council – in line with the Commission’s communication of December 2021.
Parliament further calls for:
- the adoption of the Anti-Discrimination Directive, which has been blocked since 2008;
- the proper implementation of the Racial Equality and Employment Equality Directives;
- a Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, for a ban on gender-based violence under EU law, and for the criminalisation of forced sterilisation and abortion across all EU countries; and
- appropriate internal strategies by the EU institutions, such as the EP diversity strategy and its roadmap for 2022-2024.
The rapporteur, Evin Incir (S&D, SE), said: “Racism is not an opinion; it is a human rights violation. Racism kills. Racism prevents society from benefiting from all our citizens’ experiences and competences. It is high time we rooted out racism and discrimination, and delivered justice for all people. It is no coincidence that rising levels of racism are accompanied by the rise of the far right to power in Europe, be it in Italy, Hungary or Sweden. We condemn the far right for its scapegoating of minorities, and for trying to divide communities.”
