Amnesty International is presenting this submission to the European Commission ahead of the preparation of its 2024 Enlargement Package, including the Opinion on the application for Serbia’s membership in the European Union. It details Amnesty International’s human rights concerns and outlines key recommendations that the EU should prioritize in the framework of Serbia’s EU accession process as well as any other ongoing engagement with the authorities. 

This submission details Amnesty International’s human rights concerns in relation to Türkiye and outlines key recommendations that the EU should prioritize in the framework of Türkiye’s EU accession process as well as in its broader bilateral relations with the country.

In an open letter, Amnesty International urges High Representative Josep Borrell to lead European Union (EU) and member state efforts to respond to the Chinese government’s use of transnational repression to silence dissent from Chinese students abroad.

At the time of the adoption of the so-called European Union (EU) – Turkey deal in 2016, despite the abundant evidence that human rights would be at risk if the deal went ahead, the Dutch authorities endorsed and implemented it. As such, the Netherlands should be held accountable for violating Dutch, international and EU law.

Ahead of the European Parliament’s final vote on the European Union (EU) Pact on Migration and Asylum on 10 April, Amnesty International warns that these reforms will put people at heightened risk of human rights violations.

Reacting to the European Council’s decision to call for a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, Amnesty International’s Head of the European Institutions Office, Eve Geddie said: 

Ahead of the European Union’s (EU) leaders meeting with the Egyptian president in Cairo (17 March 2024), Amnesty International called for all leaders to ensure that respect for human rights is at the centre of all ties between the EU and Egypt.

The European Commission is currently deliberating whether it will release its planned funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), without which UNRWA could run out of funding leading to closing its operation. In a letter addressed to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard urges the European Commission to ensure these funds are allocated to UNRWA without delay, to avoid exacerbating the suffering of over two million Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, who are currently facing a serious risk of genocide.

Ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council on 19 February, Amnesty International shared a letter with High Representative Josep Borrell and EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs, in relation to the worrying signs of genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip and the impending Israeli ground invasion of Rafah.

Following certain governments’ alarming decisions to suspend funding to the United Nations Work and Relief Agency (UNRWA), Amnesty International wrote to leaders of EU member states, to High Representative Borrell and to European Commissioner for Crisis Management Lenarčič, urging them to ensure that the EU and your governments do not suspend funding to UNRWA and continue publicly supporting UNRWA and its essential mission in view of the risk of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Ahead of the EU-Egypt Association Council today (23 January 2024), European leaders must ensure that respect for human rights is at the core of all ties with Egypt. Amnesty International’s Head of the European Institutions Office and Advocacy Director, Eve Geddie said:  

Ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council on 22 January, Amnesty International wrote to High Representative / Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles and EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs, to share our analysis and recommendations for their discussion on the situation in the Middle East.