As Poland assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 January 2025, Amnesty International sets out recommendations for its mandate in a letter to Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland. Dear Prime Minister Tusk, Poland assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) at a critical moment, and…
Ursula von der Leyen knows that the EU’s reputation as a credible actor for human rights and international law is in tatters over the horrors in Gaza. EU leaders and officials have gone from privately condemning the EU’s double standards behind closed doors to publicly lamenting them. Instead of tackling these double standards however, the European Commission President rebranded them…
Along with Civil Society Europe and the European Civic Forum, and an informal coalition of Civil Society Organisations, Amnesty International presents the Mapping paper and the Pathways paper for a Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society Organisations in Europe. The papers aim to map the existing protection landscape and, based on the…
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…
Responding to the passing of anti-LGBTI legal amendments to the education law that ban providing education and information about “non-traditional sexual orientation” or “gender identity different from the biological sex” in schools, Nayden Rashkov, Amnesty International Bulgaria’s Director, said: “These homophobic and transphobic legal amendments will further stigmatize LGBTI people, exposing them to greater discrimination in…
On 1 August 2024, the long-awaited Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act enters into force, meaning that after years of negotiations, the AI Act is now an official EU law. This is a significant administrative step, one which signals to governments and companies alike that they must prepare themselves to abide by these new rules. If they…
The European Union was founded on the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Yet too many people continue to face discrimination and inequality across the Union, including intersectional and multiple forms of discrimination in all aspects of their lives.[1] In the current climate, it is now imperative that the EU institutions strengthen their resolve to take…
The undersigned organisations call on the European Commission and EU Member States to take immediate action to protect civic space in Hungary and express our unwavering support for and solidarity with Transparency International Hungary and Átlátszó, who have recently been targeted for investigation by Hungary’s Sovereignty Protection Office. Transparency International Hungary is a watchdog committed…
Dear Minister, On 25 June, the EU General Affairs Council is set to examine the situation in Hungary under Article 7.1 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). Ahead of this meeting, our organisations once again call on your leadership to take the Article 7.1 TEU procedure against Hungary forward, by issuing recommendations to the…
Today, the Council of the EU officially adopted the EU Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence.1 As 13 civil society organisations2 which advocate for human rights, gender equality, and the right for all to live free from violence, we welcome this first ever binding EU legislation on this issue as a groundbreaking…
Responding to today’s European Parliament vote to adopt a package of new European Union (EU) laws on migration and asylum, Eve Geddie, Amnesty International’s Head of the European Institutions Office and Director of Advocacy, said: “After years of negotiations, EU institutions are now shamefully co-signing an agreement that they know will lead to greater human…