How can Europe keep fundamental rights protected as societies undergo profound change? A new report from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) explores the transformations that could shape fundamental rights by 2040. A companion guide outlines practical ways of integrating fundamental rights in foresight exercises. Together, the products show how foresight can help anticipate risks and keep fundamental rights safeguards effective and enforceable in the years ahead.

The report ‘Fundamental rights in an uncertain future: Strategic foresight for Europe 2040’ examines how people’s rights could be affected by technology, the climate crisis, economic transformation, democratic and security challenges, and preparedness policies and measures. It considers how these developments interact and what they could mean for public decisions, institutions and access to justice.

It then explores six pathways for a rights-based future for Europe, with practical examples of how safeguards and institutions could respond to emerging risks:

• Embedding fundamental rights in decision-making: using fundamental rights impact assessments and rights-based budgeting to identify how policy and public spending affect people, and whether safeguards work in practice.
• Strengthening democratic participation and resilience: ensuring public participation feeds directly into decision-making; supporting civil society groups, community organisations, the media and educational institutions. Stress-testing democratic institutions against pressures such as disinformation and prolonged emergencies.
• Keeping oversight and remedies effective: strengthening monitoring, review and independent oversight to identify emerging harms to fundamental rights, support institutional learning and ensure safeguards remain effective as conditions change
• Aligning innovation with fundamental rights: involving affected communities in technology design, and ensuring testing and independent assessments to identify harms before technologies are widely deployed.
• Ensuring a fair and inclusive environmental transition: supporting people and communities affected by the climate change by sharing the costs, risks and benefits of climate and environmental measures so they do not deepen existing inequalities. Bringing the interests of future generations into today’s decisions.
• Preparing societies for disruption and change: keeping essential services such as healthcare, housing and social protection running when crises hit. Stress-testing whether fundamental rights safeguards and access to justice would hold up under pressures like cyberattacks, climate shocks or economic downturns. Making sure emergency measures remain lawful, proportionate, open to challenge and temporary.

The accompanying ‘Embedding fundamental rights in foresight: A guide for practitioners’ explains how to integrate fundamental rights considerations in foresight exercises. It sets out six principles, with practical examples of how to apply them. They cover legality, relevance, participation, equality and non-discrimination, reliability, and transparency and accountability.

The report and guide aim to help policymakers, human rights organisations and foresight practitioners identify emerging fundamental rights challenges, make more informed choices and prepare for change. They form part of FRA’s wider work on strategic foresight.