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Annual reports on the application of the Charter

Annual reports on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Objective of the reports

Since 2010, the European Commission has published an annual report on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU.

The annual report monitors progress in the areas where the EU has powers to act, showing how the charter has been taken into account in actual cases, notably when new EU legislation is proposed.

Since 2021, following the strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter in the EU, the Charter report focusses every year on a different thematic area of strategic relevance governed by EU law. 

The annual report provides an opportunity for an annual exchange of views with the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.

    2023 Report

    Read the 2023 report

    Effective legal protection and access to justice constitute an area of strategic relevance addressed in the 2023 Annual report on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, in line with the thematic approach announced by the European Commission in the 2020 Strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU. The 2023 Charter report provides a fundamental rights perspective on access to justice for all through judicial and non-judicial remedies, by giving an overview of the relevant EU legislation and of the recent developments (2020-2023).

      Four areas of the report

      EU law on effective legal protection and access to justice

      To enable everyone to seek and obtain a just resolution of legal problems through legal and justice services, the EU has developed a comprehensive legal framework, which contains remedies for breaches of the related EU law. This is supplemented by several EU instruments establishing minimum standards on effective legal protection and access to justice. The scope of relevant EU policies ranges from digitalisation efforts to protecting victims of crime or discrimination, strengthening consumers’ rights, safeguarding the rights of suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings, to fields such as environmental protection, online content regulation and data protection.

      Measures taken by Member States to provide for effective legal protection

      EU law can benefit people’s daily lives in a range of situations by strengthening their effective legal protection and access to justice in conjunction with national rules. The report provides a snapshot of the achievements and challenges Member States have encountered in providing sufficient remedies to ensure effective legal protection in the fields covered by EU law, as they are required to do under Article 19(1)TEU.  

      Provision of effective legal protection through courts 

      Acknowledging that judgments can make a significant contribution to the interpretation of EU and national law on effective legal protection and access to justice, the report gives an overview of relevant cases of the CJEU and national courts.

      EU funding for effective legal protection

      The active engagement of the Commission in ensuring the availability of effective legal protection also translates into support through funding aimed at building the capacity of judicial professionals, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to promote and protect EU values and apply the Charter in their daily work. 

      Read the 2023 report in all EU languages

      Targeted consultations

      The report relies on the Commission's and the FRA's qualitative assessment of the feedback from consultations, and of other sources. Input was provided by Member States, Charter Focal Points, international organisations, the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) and the European Network of Equality Bodies (Equinet) and their members. It is also based on the results of an online consultation of CSOs run through the Fundamental Rights Agency Civil Society Platform, as well as contributions for other Commission reports, such as the Rule of Law reports and the Justice Scoreboard.

      2023 Report – FRA summary of civil society consultation on access to justice 

      2023 Report – input from Member States

      Previous reports

      In 2020 there was no Charter report on year 2019 as the Commission adopted its strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter in the EU.