| Consultation: | Federal Committee Athens - Fall 2026 |
|---|---|
| Agenda item: | 2. Political Commission 2 |
| Proposer: | Alberto Gasparato (JEF Europe | PC 2) |
| Status: | Modified |
| Submitted: | 10/13/2026, 21:43 |
Resolution submitted by: JEF Political Commission 2 – Internal European Affairs
and The Empowerment and Diversity Task Force.
Adopted by the European Congress in Liège on 21 November 2021. Re-adopted and
amended by the European Federal Committee in Athens, Greece on 31 October 2026.
The last few years have seen an increase in public discourse relating to
inclusion, gender and racial dynamics, and systemic means of discrimination. For
policies to be truly fit for the whole society, all members of said society must
be involved in the process in order to create a positive impact. The inclusion
of all willing citizens in civil society activism is imperative for the
development of policies.
JEF Europe,
Emphasising that the European Union (EU) is founded on the values of
respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law
and respect for human rights, including the rights of people from
marginalised and underrepresented communities, as laid down in Article 2
of the Treaty on the European Union, and aims to promote peace, its values
and the wellbeing of its people as stated in Article 3.1, of the Treaty on
European Union (TEU);
Recalling the purpose of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European
Union, the European Convention on Human Rights and other applicable human
rights treaties to protect the rights of everyone living in the EU and
Europe and their role in strengthening and bringing consistency to the
protection of human and fundamental rights;
Understanding inclusion as the practice or policy of providing equal
access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be
excluded or marginalised, such as those who have disabilities and members
of other marginalised and underrepresented groups;
Reaffirming the importance of inclusion of all marginalised groups in the
European integration process;
Taking note of protections provided in the Race Equality Directive
(Directive 2000/43/EC), the Employment Equality Directive (Directive
2000/78/EC), the recast Equal Treatment Directive (Directive 2006/54/EC),
the Gender Balance Directive, and several others;
Welcoming the adoption of the LGBTQIA+ Equality Strategy 2026-2030 and the
Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2030 by the European Commission, while
noting with concern the merging of the equality portfolio with crisis
management in the 2024-2029 College;
Deeply disturbed by the persistent rise in hate crimes, political
extremism, and polarising rhetoric across Europe;
Acknowledging the colonial past of some member states, which is still not
recognised in some of them, and its still existing impact on the power
relations between countries and within our societies;
Acknowledging the lack of diverse representation, including but not
limited to ethnic and socio-economic diversity, among the people in
visible leadership roles of the European institutions and who play key
roles in the policy-making process;
Commending the work of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
(FRA) for a more inclusive Union;
Welcoming the set of actions set out in the 2026 Anti-Racism Strategy
covering e.g. aspects of economy, education, EU legislation and fighting
extremism and hate speech;
Acknowledging the work of EU level Civil Society Organisations towards a
more inclusive Europe;
Stressing the importance of direct support provided for public
authorities, not-for-profit and civil society organisations, as well as
cultural, youth and research organisations to promote the EU values,
respect for human rights, equality, democracy, freedom and the rule of law
through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme;
Deeply disturbed by the actions taken against human rights by several
Member States;
Expressing appreciation for the work on inclusion of the European
Parliament’s intergroups, including the introduction of proxy mechanisms
for mothers of newborns;
Welcoming Directive (EU) 2024/1385 on combating violence against women and
domestic violence;
Welcoming the overwhelmingly positive vote of the European Parliament in
declaring the European Union a LGBTIQ Freedom Zone on 11th March 2021;
Deploring the ongoing blocking of the Anti-Discrimination Directive by the
Council since 2008;
Expressing its appreciation for the adoption of the Pay Transparency
Directive in 2023;
Expressing its worry over the general lack of data collection across much
of the EU and the weaknesses this causes at the national equality bodies
in many EU countries, among other reasons;
Emphasising the importance of representation in media of people from
marginalised communities;
Highlights the importance of a proper implementation of the European
Charter for Regional or Minority Languages;
Fully aware of the difficulties faced by European citizens that live in
areas such as sparsely populated, rural, mountain, island and overseas
territories whose geographical, socioeconomic or demographic situation
implies a series of disadvantages;
Noting with satisfaction that the European Union has a “Code of conduct on
countering illegal hate speech online”;
Underlining the importance of an intersectional approach when it comes to
inclusion initiatives;
Recalling the initiative founded by Ursula Hirschmann “Femmes pour
l’Europe” (Women for Europe), created to give voice to women in shaping
the process of European integration;
Reaffirming JEF Europe’s resolutions “Building a Europe of the Regions and
Local communities, based on subsidiarity and regional rights”, “Building a
Europe of the Regions and Local communities, based on subsidiarity and
regional rights”, “Advancing the European Union’s Social Dimension”, “For
a Stronger European Judicial System”, and “For a common migration and
asylum policy”.
JEF Europe, therefore,
Calls for all EU institutions, Members States, Candidate countries and
Members of the EEA to act against discrimination based on any ground such
as gender, sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features,
language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, belonging of
a national minority, property, place of birth, disability, age or sexual
orientation;
Calls on the Commission to adopt an ambitious Anti-Racism Strategy 2026-
2030 without further delay, to restore equality as a standalone
Commissioner mandate in the next institutional cycle;
Calls on the EU Commission and Member States to report on the
implementation of aforementioned initiatives, including both action plans
and directives, in a timely manner respecting deadlines to ensure the
continuity and effectiveness of measures;
Reaffirms the importance of the European Court of Justice and EFTA Court
in holding Member States, Candidate countries and Members of the EEA
accountable for the breaches of European Law respectively;
Calls on the Commission to establish a permanent structured dialogue
mechanism with civil society and youth organisations representing
marginalised groups, modelled on the European Social Dialogue under
Article 155 TFEU, to ensure their systematic involvement in the
development and review of equality legislation and policy at EU level;
Calls on the EU to continue develop its legal framework on anti-
discrimination and demands the unblocking of the anti-discrimination
directive in the Council which has been blocked from progressing since
2008, and to have a meaningful effect within the EU it needs legally
binding elements to be enforced;
Calls on the Commission to pursue infringement proceedings under Article
258 TFEU against any Member State enacting legislation restricting LGBTIQ+
visibility, following the Court of Justice ruling of 21 April 2026 in Case
C-769/22;
Urges all EU Member States to harmonise legislation protecting fundamental
rights and ratify relevant international conventions related to such
rights, including the Istanbul Convention on Action against violence
against women and the International Labour Organization Convention no. 190
on stopping violence and harassment at the workplace;
Calls on the EU and its Member States, Candidate countries and the Members
of the EEA to provide adequate protection and measures to prevent sexual
and gender-based violence, and to harmonise the definition of rape based
on consent, as outlined in Article 36(2) of the Istanbul Convention;
Calls on Member States, Candidate countries, Members of the EEA and EU
institutions to improve public awareness of the non-discrimination
legislation and resources through campaigns, introduction of these topics
into the syllabus and specific efforts to educate e.g. on anti-racism, as
well as support the work of non-profit and civil society organisations to
promote awareness on situations and challenges faced by marginalised
groups;
Encourages the empowerment of relevant civil society organisations working
towards inclusion and against discrimination, and equipping them with
adequate resources;
Urges the development of Equality Bodies’ mandates to cover discrimination
on any ground recognised in the Fundamental Rights Charter, European
Convention on Human Rights or domestic legislation, as already implemented
by many Member States and to ensure the independence of those bodies;
Affirms the importance of the EU institutions leading by example,
especially by promoting visible, including but not limited to ethnic,
cultural, gender and socioeconomic, diversity among people in leadership
roles;
Calls for a bigger role for the EU anti-racism coordinator, to uphold the
mission given to the office and increase its work capacity;
Calls on the EU and its Member States, Candidate countries and Members of
the EEA to take true action to close the Gender Pay Gap as soon as
possible and promote women’s access to work and education, especially for
women coming from marginalised backgrounds;
Demands EU and all of its Member States, Candidate countries and Members
of the EEA to protect the right to bodily autonomy by legislating to
provide access to safe abortion, contraceptives and other forms of
necessary reproductive care;
Urges the EU and its Member States, Candidate countries and Members of the
EEA to act to protect the right to family and private life, as well as
other fundamental rights of LGBTQIA+ people in Europe, and ensuring
recognition of the family and relationship ties and status across borders,
including guaranteeing the recognition and protection of the rights of
their family members based on those ties;
Demands more action to ensure access to free, basic education for all, and
initiatives to make higher education more accessible and affordable for
people coming from marginalised backgrounds;
Calls for specific action by the EU institutions in order to guarantee an
effective protection of the rights of Regional and Minority Languages
speakers;
Urges the EU and its Member States, Candidate countries and Members of the
EEA to commit to respecting and guaranteeing the rights belonging to
indigenous peoples, and working in collaboration especially with Sámi to
ensure the fulfilment of these rights;
Calls on the EU and its Member States, Candidate countries and Members of
the EEA to guarantee the fulfilment of fundamental rights of the Roma
communities, and commit to prevention of discrimination and hate against
said communities.
