EU External Relations content – European Institutions Office

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Statements And Reports

Asia and the Pacific

Censorship and Freedom of Expression

India: Amnesty International’s submission to the European Commission’s new comprehensive strategic approach to EU-India relations

In response to the European Commission’s call for evidence on ‘EU-India relations – new comprehensive strategic approach’, Amnesty International made the following submission. Ahead of their forthcoming Joint Communication on a new Strategic EU-India Agenda and a jointly agreed five-year Roadmap with India, Amnesty International urges the EU and its member states to ensure that…

7th May 2025
Press Releases

Europe and Central Asia

Asylum and migration

EU: Return proposals a “new low” for Europe’s treatment of migrants

Today, the European Commission introduced a proposed revision to the 2008 Return Directive, amending the EU legal framework on returns or deportations outside of the EU. Following pressure from certain member states, it also introduces a possible legal basis for ‘return hubs’ in EU law through “agreements or arrangements” with third countries. “The European Commission…

11th March 2025
Press Releases

Europe and Central Asia

Asylum and migration

Netherlands: NGOs seek justice for rights violations under EU-Türkiye deal

On 11 March, the District Court of The Hague will determine the admissibility of a court case brought by Amnesty International, Boat Refugee Foundation and Defence for Children Netherlands to hold the Dutch government responsible for its role in endorsing and implementing the EU-Türkiye deal. The three organizations hold the Dutch state responsible for the…

6th March 2025
Letters

Europe and Central Asia

Armed conflict

EU/Ukraine: Justice and victims’ rights must be at the forefront of any steps to end the war in Ukraine

As we mark three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and amid the recently accelerated discussions on ending the war, Amnesty International wrote a letter to EU leaders, urging them to take concerted action to influence and shape the terms of any proposed ‘peace negotiations’ and to ensure that they are firmly grounded in…

24th February 2025
Press Releases

Europe and Central Asia

Asylum and migration

Europe: European Court of Human Rights to hear landmark ‘pushback’ cases

On 12 February, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights will hear three cases against Latvia, Lithuania and Poland concerning alleged unlawful pushbacks — summary returns of migrants and refugees at the border — from these EU states to Belarus. This is the first time the European Court will rule on human…

15th February 2025
Letters

Asia and the Pacific

Censorship and Freedom of Expression

India: NGOs call on the EU to take action on urgent human rights concerns

Ahead of the College of Commissioners’ visit to India, Amnesty International and 11 other NGOs urge EU leaders to step up their engagement with their Indian counterparts in light of the profound human rights crisis in the country. Dear President von der Leyen, Dear Commissioners, As the College of Commissioners prepares to visit India amid…

13th February 2025
Letters

Europe and Central Asia

Climate change

Council of Europe: Time for Action with a Protocol on the Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment

In a letter to Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers for the Environment of Member States of the Council of Europe, Amnesty International calls for a legally binding instrument guaranteeing the human right to a healthy environment. Dear Ministers, I am writing to you on behalf of Amnesty International to encourage you to take action…

13th January 2025
Press Releases

Europe and Central Asia

Armed conflict

Europe: Safety of Syrians in Europe must not be sacrificed to political interests

Responding to the decision of several European governments to suspend asylum applications of Syrians following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, Eve Geddie said: “The situation in Syria is extremely volatile. Five decades of brutality and repression cannot be undone overnight. But European governments have wasted no time halting…

10th December 2024
Statements And Reports

Europe and Central Asia

Climate change

EU: Raise Human Rights Crisis in Azerbaijan during COP29

Together with 16 other international human rights organizations, Amnesty International calls on EU leaders attending COP29, the 29th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Baku, to raise directly with the Azerbaijani authorities the cases of those imprisoned on politically motivated grounds and aim to secure their release. In this joint statement, our organizations call…

6th November 2024
Letters

Europe and Central Asia

Discrimination

Council of Europe: Leading NGOs call for a vote in favour of the PACE resolution on the human rights of sex workers

Letter in support: Vote in favour of the resolution on the human rights of sex workers We, the undersigned organisations, welcome the draft resolution entitled “Protecting the human rights and improving the lives of sex workers and victims of sexual exploitation” (Doc. 16044), adopted by the Equality and Non Discrimination Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly…

2nd October 2024
Europe and Central Asia

LGBTI Rights

Bulgaria: Rejection of attempt to criminalise gender-affirming healthcare a welcome block against rising tide of hate

Reacting to a parliamentary vote rejecting amendments to Bulgarian law which would have criminalized the provision of gender-affirming healthcare for minors, Nayden Rashkov, Amnesty International Bulgaria’s Director, said: “It is a huge relief that this attempt to impose draconian fines and even prison sentences on healthcare professionals who provide gender-affirming healthcare to trans and intersex children…

27th September 2024
Statements And Reports

Europe and Central Asia

Business and Human Rights

Toxic double standards: How Europe sells products deemed too dangerous for Europeans to the rest of the world – Joint briefing

Amnesty International joins Greenpeace and over 100 non-governmental organizations calling on the European Union to prohibit companies in the EU from exporting products banned in Europe to other parts of the world, to stop further harms to people and the environment. Amnesty International has been warning that digital surveillance systems produced by companies based in…

26th September 2024

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