“The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights has provided added momentum to the advancement of fundamental rights across the EU,” said FRA Director Morten Kjaerum, celebrating five years since the Charter entered into force on 1 December 2009. “It has helped drive change that has led to a substantially increased fundamental rights culture within the EU institutions. The EU and Member States should build on this momentum to continue to make a difference to the daily lives of people in Europe.”

Since the Charter’s was formally declared in 2000 the EU fundamental rights landscape has noticeably evolved. For example there is now: a First Vice-President in the European Commission who oversees fundamental rights; a much stronger European Parliament that promotes respect for fundamental rights; a Council of the EU working group that specifically looks at fundamental rights developments; a specialist agency, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), that provides evidence-based advice on the rights of the Charter; checklists to ensure that EU legislation respects fundamental rights; greater interaction with committees in national parliaments responsible for the fundamental rights; and EU programmes that earmark funds for fundamental rights-related projects not only outside but also within the EU. In addition, the EU’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights is nearing completion.

The Charter has also added value by being a comprehensive list of rights that also reflects current concerns – such as the protection of personal data, an issue of greater concern in the wake of increased usage of information and communication technologies; human cloning; non-discrimination also including protected grounds like genetic features; the right to good administration or rights which protect issues of global concern, such as the right to a healthy environment. Globally speaking, the Charter is remarkable as it combines a whole range of civil, political, economic and social rights and certain “third generation” rights in one single legally-binding text.

The creation of such a comprehensive list of rights also serves as a point of reference, as well as of inspiration, to all layers of government. This can be seen in the increased number of references to the Charter in EU and national case law, underlining the practical value of the Charter and its relevance to ordinary citizens throughout the EU.

More information about the Charter and how it is being linked to EU and national law, and EU case law in the area of fundamental rights, can be found in FRA’s own online tool, Charterpedia and its mobile app, the CharterApp.