A new report on civil liberties has sounded a grave warning for the European Union, revealing that several member states are actively undermining the rule of law, rolling back protections for vulnerable groups, and flouting international human rights obligations.
The sixth edition of the Liberties’ Rule of Law Report 2025 paints a troubling picture of systemic discrimination and government inaction, with countries such as Italy, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Slovakia accused of intentionally eroding fundamental rights in nearly every sphere of public life.
The report highlights a disturbing trend of intensified hate and discrimination against Roma communities, asylum seekers, and the LGBTQIA+ population. In several instances, not only did governments fail to enforce existing legal protections, but they also disregarded guidance from international human rights bodies and enacted policies that further marginalised these groups.
Across the EU, institutional indifference and deliberate political decisions have facilitated systemic racism and emboldened discriminatory practices.
Roma Communities: A Persistent Target of Discrimination
One of the starkest findings in the report is the entrenched marginalisation of Roma communities, particularly in Slovakia, Romania, and Croatia. School segregation remains a rampant issue, with Roma children disproportionately placed in institutions for pupils with mental disabilities or segregated into separate classrooms and schools.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has repeatedly condemned these practices, and in April 2023, the European Commission referred Slovakia to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for its persistent failure to address the problem. Despite some legislative reforms in Slovakia, broader inaction by member states underscores the deep-rooted racial biases that continue to shape educational policies across the continent.
LGBTQIA+ Rights Under Siege
The report also details significant setbacks in LGBTQIA+ rights, with several governments either rolling back legal protections or failing to enforce existing ones. In Slovakia, the Ministry of Health scrapped essential standards for medical gender transitioning, and a parliamentary amendment was introduced seeking to prohibit public endorsement of so-called non-traditional lifestyles.
Similarly, Lithuania’s government refused to legalise same-sex unions despite growing public support. Italy, too, saw a regression in LGBTQIA+ rights, with the Minister of the Interior mandating that only the biological parent be listed on birth certificates of children born to same-sex couples. These measures represent a clear attempt to erode hard-won legal protections and signal to marginalised communities that their rights remain precarious.
A Hardening Stance on Migration
In 2024, European governments implemented some of the strictest migration policies in recent history, leading to widespread human rights violations. Civil society organisations have raised the alarm over forced returns from Slovenia and Greece to countries where migrants face inhumane and degrading treatment. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) condemned these illegal pushbacks, citing the serious risks of abuse, the absence of procedural safeguards, and the lack of individual assessments in these cases.
Yet rather than addressing these violations, many governments have introduced additional restrictive measures. Germany, Sweden, and Slovenia have all amended laws to weaken the protective status of refugees, limiting their social benefits and increasing criminal penalties for illegal border crossings. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, a new right-wing government has proposed a temporary asylum crisis law that would enable emergency legislation to override existing immigration protections.
Such policies illustrate how governments, facing economic pressures and social unrest, have increasingly used asylum seekers and refugees as scapegoats, playing into nationalist sentiments to deflect public frustration away from their own governance failures. The willingness to sacrifice human rights protections for political expediency reflects a disturbing trend that undermines the EU’s founding principles.
France’s Stance on Discrimination Draws Global Condemnation
The erosion of civil liberties is not confined to Central and Eastern Europe. France, long seen as a defender of human rights, has faced international scrutiny over its discriminatory policies. The government’s decision to ban French athletes from wearing sports headscarves during the 2024 Olympic Games sparked outrage from the United Nations and human rights advocates, who viewed it as a violation of religious freedoms.
This move, coupled with an increase in racial profiling by French law enforcement, has raised serious concerns about institutionalised discrimination. Despite mounting pressure from the UN Human Rights Committee, the French government has yet to propose concrete measures to address these issues.
The EU’s Response: Too Little, Too Late?
The Liberties’ Rule of Law Report 2025 is not the first warning sign that Europe’s commitment to human rights is faltering. However, the EU’s response has been sluggish, and in many cases, ineffective. While institutions like the European Commission have taken legal action against non-compliant member states—such as referring Slovakia to the CJEU—these interventions often come too late to prevent harm and, in some cases, fail to produce meaningful change.
The European Union was founded on principles of democracy, equality, and human rights. Yet, as member states openly defy these values, Brussels finds itself at a crossroads. The bloc must take stronger action, whether through financial penalties, stricter enforcement mechanisms, or diplomatic pressure, to ensure that all member states uphold their obligations. The failure to do so risks setting a dangerous precedent, where human rights protections become negotiable depending on political convenience.
The warning signs are clear: Europe is witnessing a regression in civil liberties and human rights protections, driven by nationalist rhetoric and governmental indifference. From the systemic discrimination against Roma communities to the dismantling of LGBTQIA+ rights and the tightening grip on asylum policies, these actions threaten to unravel decades of progress.
At a time when global instability is on the rise, safeguarding fundamental rights must remain a priority. Citizens, civil society groups, and international bodies must continue to push back against policies that endanger democracy and the rule of law. If left unchallenged, this erosion of rights will not only impact the most vulnerable but will also undermine the very fabric of the European Union itself.
The battle for human rights is far from over. It is now up to Europe’s leaders to decide whether they will defend the values they claim to uphold—or allow them to wither away in the face of political expediency.
