Standing Up for Equality: The EU’s Ongoing Commitment at the Council of Europe

In September and October, the EU Delegation to the Council of Europe (CoE) took part in a series of events on equality.

On 23 September, the EU Head of Delegation (HoD) Vesna Kos delivered opening remarks in the Concluding Event of the Training on “European Standards on Equality and Anti-Discrimination” to support the Belarusian Democratic Forces and Civil Society. 

The HoD welcomed the active functioning of the CoE’s Contact Group on Cooperation with the Belarusian Democratic Forces. She recalled that, since June 2023, the EU is engaging with the Belarusian Democratic Forces and civil society through a Consultative Group, which meets twice a year. She reaffirmed the Contact Group as instrumental in cooperation projects in multiple fields, including equality and anti-discrimination. She emphasised the importance of ensuring that co-operation activities reach groups most at risk of discrimination, including the LGBTIQ+ community, and underlined the need to jointly combat hate speech, online threats and intolerance. She reiterated that the EU remains resolute in supporting the Belarusian civil society, and in pursuing justice for victims of oppression and accountability for perpetrators of human rights violations. 

On 27 October, Anna Pogwizd, Deputy Head, opened the Regional Seminar on Strengthening the Action of Equality Bodies against Discrimination and Hatred, alongside Angela Longo, Head of Anti-discrimination Cooperation Unit of the CoE. The event took place in the frame of the Horizontal Facility and Partnership for Good Governance  (HF/PGG) joint EU-CoE programmes. 

This seminar was an opportunity for equality bodies’ representatives from the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership regions to discuss the most effective mechanisms in securing remedies for victims, as well as in strengthening prevention and response, such as tackling intersectional discrimination, algorithmic bias or systemic racism.  

In the field of combating discrimination, the EU and CoE share common legal principles, as contained in a number of recommendations by the Council of Europe and its standard-setting and monitoring bodies, as well as in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, particularly on Article 14. On the EU side, evolutions in the acquis have brought it closer to CoE standards, which are also, in the meantime, developing. For example, in the area of equality, the directive on equality bodies aims to better define the role of these independent, non-judicial forms of redress for discrimination, inspired by and building on the ECRI General Policy Recommendation No. 2 on equality bodies. The EU action plan on anti-racism aims to ensure the systemic implementation and enforcement of related acquis, particularly concerning hate crime and hate speech. 

The seminar focused on individual redress and access to justice for victims of discrimination and hatred. The participants - equality bodies’ representatives from the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership regions - discussed monitoring, recording, and reporting on discrimination issues.