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On 30 March the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) committee will hold a hearing on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union (EU). The hearing takes place in the context of reports by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), initiatives by the European Commission and the LIBE draft report on the situation of fundamental rights presented by the rapporteur – the text’s key author – Laura Ferrara MEP (Member of the European Parliament).

The first session will focus on the governance of the EU framework for the rule of law and fundamental rights and will be opened by Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans. The second session will explore specific threats to fundamental rights in Europe and possible solutions, and will feature Rodolfo Cattani, Vice-President of Social Platform, as a guest speaker.

The draft report by Laura Ferrara MEP includes a section on institutional questions, and states that the Parliament “expects to see an internal strategy on fundamental rights abased on article 2 [of the Lisbon Treaty] adopted in the near future”, and explains that such a strategy should be accompanied by an action plan and include cooperation with civil society and the FRA. We welcome this call as it is in line with Social Platform’s position for an EU internal strategy to promote human rights. The draft report also looks into thematic issues, including equality, calls to implement the Anti-Discrimination Directive and “Solidarity in the crisis”, highlighting the consequences of austerity measures on poverty and social exclusion levels.

Although the draft report has many good elements there is still room for improvement, and the deadline for MEPs to submit amendments is 20 April. Ensuring that the report receives support across all political groups in the Parliament is of paramount importance for the report to be adopted in the Parliament’s plenary session in July.