The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU - all personal, civil, political, economic and social rights in one simple text

In December 2000 in Nice, EU leaders, the European Commission and the European Parliament proclaimed the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The charter draws together for the first time all the personal, civil, political, economic and social rights into a single text. The way the charter was drafted was itself an achievement by involving all the EU institutions, national Parliaments as well as and a broad spectrum of society.

A debate on human rights and the European Union was launched in 1998, sparked off by the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

European Union (EU) leaders meeting in Cologne in June 1999 agreed that fundamental rights should be consolidated at EU level into a charter to make them more visible. They entrusted the task of drafting the charter to a convention, which met for the first time in December 1999. The convention adopted a draft charter on 2 October 2000. The Member States approved the draft at the European Council in Biarritz on 13 and 14 October 2000. The European Parliament gave its approval on 14 November 2000 and the European Commission on 6 December 2000. The Parliament, Council and Commission signed and proclaimed the charter on 7 December 2000 in Nice.

The Charter is incorporated as part II of the draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe submitted to the European Council meeting in Thessaloniki on the 20 June 2003. This text is not yet adopted.

What is in the charter?

The charter sets out the range of civil, political, economic and social rights of EU residents. It is divided into six sections, dealing with dignity, freedoms, equality, solidarity, citizens rights and justice. The charter draws from the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights, the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, national constitutional traditions, the Council of Europes social charter and the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers. But it goes beyond enshrining traditional human rights by addressing specifically modern issues such as bio-ethics and protecting personal data.

How was the charter drafted?

The composition of the convention that drafted the charter was agreed at the Tampere European Council in October 1999. The convention was made up of a representative from each Member State, from the European Commission, 16 members of the European Parliament, and members of national parliaments. The European Court of Justice, the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights had observer status. The European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the European Ombudsman and the EU applicant countries outlined their views to the convention. There were also public hearings where churches, trade unions, businesses, asylum-seekers, gays and lesbians, environmentalists and many other interest groups voiced their opinions. All the documents the convention produced were published on the Internet.

What is the legal status of the charter?

Presently, the charter is not part of the EU Treaty.

The Charter is incorporated as part II of the draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe submitted to the European Council meeting in Thessaloniki on the 20 June 2003. This text is not yet adopted.

How does the charter differ from the European Convention on Human Rights?

The charter is a text from the European Union, which currently has 25 Member States. The 1950 European Convention on Human rights is a text from the Council of Europe, which is made up of over 40 European countries, including Russia. The scope of the two texts also differs. The Council of Europe Convention relates solely to civil and political rights. The charter contains extra elements, such as the right to good administration, workers social rights, personal data protection and bio-ethics. The charter also expands on the conventions provisions on the right of access to the law. The charter insists that this right must involve being heard by a judge, and not merely by a national administrative body.

Why doesnt the EU sign up to the European Convention on Human Rights?

Currently, only States can sign up to the Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights. The European Commission would like the EU Treaty to be amended to allow the EU to accede to the convention. If the EU did sign up to the convention, the European Court of Human Rights a Council of Europe body would monitor whether the EU respects fundamental rights.

The draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in Part I, Article 7, paragraph 2, opens the legal possibility to the Union to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights.