Charter of Fundamental Rights: Difficult to implement but valuable - Main contents

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union is a valuable part of the overarching framework of human rights instruments. This message was underscored by participants in a seminar on the Charter, which was organised by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in Amsterdam on Friday 19 February.

Photos: Kick Smeets

‘A struggle’

Participants made suggestions about how the Charter could be used more effectively within the legislative process, for example by strengthening internal checks or by the greater involvement of external advisory bodies and national parliaments.

The seminar was opened by Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk. ‘Maintaining a free society remains a struggle, and the reception of asylum seekers makes the debate on this issue all the more topical and pressing,’ Mr Plasterk said, explaining that it can be difficult to translate the values of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights into national law and practical measures.

The Charter is for everyone

After Mr Plasterk’s official opening, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Věra Jourová took the floor and urged participants to find a way of convincing all Europeans that human rights apply to everyone, not just certain groups.

Professor Michael O’Flaherty, the Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, called for fostering greater public awareness of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

A topic of discussion

In the afternoon session participants emphasised that training is needed to raise awareness and increase knowledge of the Charter among non-specialists. Guidelines on how to apply the Charter in practice, such as those developed by the Netherlands and Finland, can be helpful in that regard.

Promising initiatives should be shared. The implementation of the Charter should be an ongoing topic of discussion in the member states: in the context of the EU institutions and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, but also in bilateral exchanges.

The results of the seminar will be integrated into the conclusions of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council on the implementation of the Charter to be held in early June.

Full text of Commissioner Věra Jourová’s speech

Full text of Professor Michael O’Flaherty’s speech