Dear President von der Leyen,

On 31 July, the European Union (EU) extended the scope of goods covered by its pioneering Anti-Torture Regulation, strengthening its region-wide measures preventing the transfer of law enforcement equipment to those who would use it for torture and other ill-treatment worldwide. Amnesty International calls for EU member states to fully implement these important changes and urges governments worldwide to redouble policy and practical work to counter the trade in tools of torture and to effectively prevent torture and other ill-treatment across the globe.

Reacting to today’s ruling by the European Union (EU) Court of Justice (ECJ) that Italy’s rules on designating certain countries of origin as ‘safe’ for people seeking asylum was incompatible with EU law, Adriana Tidona, Migration Researcher at Amnesty International, said:

Ahead of the upcoming EU-China Summit in China on July 24–25, 17 organizations wrote to President Costa and President von der Leyen, urging them to prioritize human rights and use the Summit as an opportunity to ensure justice for victims and survivors of Beijing’s violations. We call on the EU and its member states to confront a growing human rights crisis, which increasingly impacts not only people across China but also people worldwide.

Reacting to the EU’s decision not to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Agnès Callamard Amnesty International’s Secretary General said:

On 15 July, EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs will meet at the Foreign Affairs Council to decide whether to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, or take any other measures to bring an end to Israel’s violations of international law against Palestinians and ensure that the EU and its member states do not contribute to these grave violations. Ahead of the meeting, Amnesty International sent the following public letter to High Representative Kaja Kallas and EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs.

Ahead of the meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels on 15 July that will decide whether to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Eve Geddie, the Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, said:

Ahead of a visit by EU Migration Commissioner Brunner and EU ministers to Libya to discuss migration cooperation on 8 July, Eve Geddie, the Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, said:

The EU’s recent proposals in the area of migration and asylum risk seriously undermining people’s access to fair and full asylum procedures in Europe. The European Commission’s recent initiatives appear to be interconnected components of a broader strategy to externalise the bloc’s migration management – these include its proposed revision to EU return or deportation rules put forward in March 2025, its April 2025 EU list of ‘safe countries of origin’ and a revision to the ‘safe third country’ concept in May 2025. With these measures the EU seems to be seeking to further shift responsibility for refugee protection onto countries outside its borders and sidestep legal obligations under the Refugee Convention and EU law.

We, the undersigned Egyptian, regional and international human rights organisations, are writing to provide input ahead of the negotiations on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the EU’s €4 billion Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) package to Egypt. Article 3 of the decision by the European Parliament and Council on granting MFA to Egypt states that: “The Commission… shall agree with the Egyptian authorities on clearly defined economic policy and financial conditions… to which the Union’s macro-financial assistance is to be subject, to be laid down in a Memorandum of Understanding…”. We recognize the EU’s objective of supporting Egypt’s economic stabilization, as reflected in the decision to provide this substantial assistance—the second-largest MFA operation after that granted to Ukraine. However, this decision marks a departure from the EU’s usual standards for recipient countries, which according to EU guidelines on MFA, include prior “respect for human rights and effective democratic mechanisms.” Notably, Article 2(1) of the aforementioned decision deviates from past practice and established guidelines by stating: “A pre-condition for granting the Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be that Egypt continues to make concrete and credible steps towards respecting effective democratic mechanisms – including a multi-party parliamentary system – and the rule of law and guarantees respect for human rights.” In addition, Article 4 (3.A) states: “The Commission shall decide on the release of the instalments subject to the fulfilment of the following conditions: (a) the pre-condition set out in Article 2(1).” Article 2(2) adds: “The Commission services and the European External Action Service shall monitor the fulfilment of this pre-condition throughout the life cycle of the Union’s macro-financial assistance.” We therefore urge the European Commission to ensure that this assistance strictly adheres to these conditions and advances socioeconomic rights by:

Ahead of the forthcoming discussions on Ukraine at the 26-27 June European Council, Amnesty International wrote to President Costa and EU Heads of state or government, urging them to use the European Council to agree on concerted EU action aimed at shaping diplomatic negotiations on Ukraine and to ensure that broader EU efforts in pursuit of a ‘just and lasting peace’ are firmly grounded in respect for international humanitarian and human rights law and a commitment to international justice and accountability.

Responding to the European Commission’s review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement which found ‘indications’ that Israel is breaching its human rights obligations, Eve Geddie the Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office said: