Protecting the rights of all is a key battle against the far right. All over Europe, the far right is instrumentalizing migration to spread fear and resentment. They wish to rollback the rights and freedoms of women and people from the LGBTQIA+ community as well as racialized people. We are fighting against this backlash, standing resolutely for democracy, freedom, and human rights.
Upholding human rights with a humane asylum system
We uphold a fair asylum system that defends human rights and dignity, based on solidarity and responsibility sharing. We are convinced that when the political will is there the European Union can tackle humanitarian challenges and protect the people seeking safety with humanity. As we uphold the fundamental principles of the European Union, the right to asylum is not up for negotiation.
We want to work towards a human asylum system with fast and decentralized procedures. Member states must fairly share the responsibility for asylum applications. For us, it is clear that we need a mandatory relocation mechanism. Parties across the political spectrum let themselves be dragged towards far-right migration policies, as the EU’s new Migration and Asylum Pact sadly reflects. The successful use of the Temporary Protection Directive in response to the refugee situation caused by the war in Ukraine should be replicated.
We call for EU visas for Human Rights and Environmental Defenders. We aim to provide legal protection for people forcibly displaced due to the climate crisis and environmental disasters. This includes climate visas to allow victims of natural disasters to seek protection and security in the European Union and supporting processes that prevent statelessness caused by the climate crisis. The specific vulnerability of LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers must be addressed.
End the criminalisation of people on the move
There has been an intolerable escalation of violence against people seeking protection. We must stop violence, torture, and inhuman and degrading treatment at Europe’s borders. Illegal pushbacks at the borders of the EU must end.
EU laws to harmonize standards on asylum procedures, reception conditions and safeguards must be enforced. We cannot accept imprisonment, mistreatment and abuse towards people seeking protection and a better life in the EU.
Rescue is not a crime
We call for an EU-funded and EU-led Search and Rescue Mission in the Mediterranean and strengthening the humanitarian mandate and responsibility of Frontex. We aim for a stronger control of the agency also through national parliaments together with the European Parliament. We want to end the criminalisation of humanitarian assistance, and prolific use of states of emergency to limit access to asylum and legitimate rights of oversight by civil society and media. People do not belong in prison simply for seeking asylum. Asylum seekers should be guaranteed access to legal help.
No dirty deals with dictators
We fiercely oppose so-called “migration deals”, such as that with Tunisia, where the EU pays off countries to keep out migrants. Any cooperation with third countries on migration needs a human rights assessment. Making development cooperation with third countries conditional on “migration management” is unethical. We cannot accept that refugees and migrants are exploited for geopolitical gain. Human trafficking must never be a weapon of hybrid warfare.
A fair migration policy for the benefit of all
Throughout history, people have always moved from place to place. Migration is as old as history, and we must return to this pragmatism. Migration can benefit all. It can help address labour shortages – today a key economic challenge. Migrants make an essential contribution to the European economy and enrich our culture, communities, and daily lives.
The establishment of legal and accessible channels for migration is a necessary precondition for ending human trafficking and exploitation. We want to develop a new, comprehensive Migration Code, providing for visa opportunities for family reunification and work at different skills levels. It should also allow migrants already in the EU to change their status, for instance from student to employee. We want to make it easier for newcomers to work and integrate through access to education, language support and job opportunities.
To prevent the exploitation of migrant workers, access to justice needs to be ensured in all EU countries. We call for a comprehensive campaign to regularize long-term “sans-papiers” living in EU countries. Whatever their status, people coming to the European Union to build a life should enjoy equal social, cultural, economic, and civic rights including freedom of movement, the right to work and social protection, and access to healthcare and education.
Fight human trafficking and labour exploitation
We want to combat human trafficking and labour exploitation in the EU. We want to protect victims, for example, through protection programmes and residency rights. Through recognising the universality of labour rights, we can effectively address severe labour exploitation, which can result in human trafficking. All workers, regardless of their residence status, have rights protecting them from illegal labour abuses under EU victims’ rights and anti-trafficking legislation. These rights must become a reality.
For a fair and safe digital world
As the digital world has become an integral part of our lives, the same freedoms and protections that exist offline should exist in online spaces. Preventing the spread of online hate is key to making sure that certain groups are not excluded from the political arena. Countering disinformation is essential for functioning and trusted democratic institutions.
The EU has made progress on the fight against disinformation and the regulation of online platforms with the Digital Services Act. Now its provisions must be enforced. Online platforms must protect legal content and be subject to public scrutiny and transparency on the removal of illegal content.
Women and racialized people suffer from disproportionate amounts of online hate. The internet must be free from illegal hate speech and discrimination. The EU should use its powers to make particularly harmful manifestations of hate chargeable as EU crimes with minimum rules regarding their definition and related sanctions. We want to give support to platforms, civil society organizations, and media initiatives promoting media literacy and anti-hate strategies.
GDPR is protecting our right to privacy, even from governmental surveillance. We will push for the right not to be tracked. The EU must lead in the global battle against mass surveillance. Adequate EU legislation must protect citizens against the abuse of spyware and stop member states from evading accountability by evoking national security.
Putting humans at the centre in artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence harbours key potential but can also create significant challenges for society. To address any risks, we will implement the principle that humans must remain in control of AI systems and that these systems respect human autonomy, dignity, and decision-making authority. Artificial intelligence must work for people, society, and planet, not for surveillance states or tech capitalism.
Strict limits should therefore be enforced. The most unethical and undemocratic practices in the EU, such as biometric mass surveillance, AI systems that recognize emotions, gender or sexual orientation, and AI-based predictive policing should not be permitted. Non-discrimination laws and data protection laws must be strengthened and enforced to guarantee that AI systems do not discriminate against racialized communities. Cybersecurity efforts must be increased to prevent AI-based hacking attacks, with a special emphasis on protecting critical infrastructure. The design and use of AI systems must be transparent. Applications such as deepfakes and chatbots must be clearly labelled as such.
We also want to ensure AI promotes, not hampers, the Green Deal with key environmental provisions. In the workplace, workers should always be able to disconnect from AI systems. Copyright legislation should be properly enforced in the context of AI models to fully protect content creators. We support the concept of “data dignity”, which means that data generated by human actions cannot be harvested for free by commercial AI developers, but first and foremost belongs to the humans that created it.
For a strong and dynamic civic space
Civil society organizations (CSO) are at the heart of every democracy. This is why we want to make them strong and truly European. We call for an EU mechanism to protect civil society, activists, and defenders from all forms of attacks, discrimination, and harassment. An EU mechanism should allow CSOs to report these attacks, including through an early warning system. Adequate funding should also be guaranteed, both at EU and national levels.
Measures to support a regular, meaningful, and structured dialogue with civil society during legislative procedures are essential. We will introduce a statute for European cross-border associations and non-profit organisations. We advocate for an EU-level civil dialogue, modelled on the social dialogue, between CSOs and EU institutions.
Free and independent media for Europe
Media concentration has reached alarming levels, threatening editorial and economic independence. The protection of journalistic sources is hampered by sweeping anti-terrorism laws and far-reaching mass surveillance measures. Defamation suits and abusive judicial proceedings have become key methods to gag investigative journalists.
We need an EU framework to prevent media concentration and enable journalists to work freely. Investigative journalism needs dedicated safeguards. Free and independent journalism must never be a question of the necessary finances. We want to closely monitor the application of EU law, in particular EU laws on copyright, trade secrets, the data protection regulation, and the Audio-visual Media Services Directive to ensure they are not abused. We will work towards the proper implementation of the future Media Freedom Act and anti-SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation) directive.
We support the emergence of pan-European media outlets and quality content on European affairs, European citizenship, and European identity, as core elements for a shared European civic and information space, dispelling EU-related myths and building a sense of European belonging.
Culture as the spark of change
Art and culture are some of society’s most powerful tools to tell stories, change minds, and build solidarity. Our rich cultural heritage and our diverse and vibrant arts scene are core features of what unites Europe and makes it unique and attractive. As Greens, we believe in the value of artistic expression in and of itself and as an essential part of our democracy. We also believe that the worlds of culture and creativity can play an important political role in helping us imagine solutions to the challenges of our time. We want to support the freedom of cultural expression through public funding and by defending it against attacks from far-right forces.
The ability to produce together is a truly transformative aspect of the Creative Europe programme. Continued support for the production and distribution of art and culture produced across Europe, particularly supporting experimentation and diversity of expressions and organizational forms, is essential.
We will push for an EU strategy to engage the cultural sectors in our Green and Social Deal and in any constituent process on the future of Europe. Cultural diplomacy and exchange should form part of the accession process for all countries looking to join the EU.
Learning the difficult lessons of the pandemic, we call for common European standards on employment, social guarantees and working conditions in the cultural and creative sectors. We want to create a European Artist Status setting up a common framework to ensure good working conditions and minimum standards for artists and cultural workers across member states, particularly in relation to streaming platforms.
Defending Schengen, enjoying free movement
Freedom of movement – the right of people to travel and move around the European Union freely and without hindrance – has touched and shaped the lives of EU citizens like no other achievement. Millions of people have built lives and relationships in EU countries other than their own and millions more regularly cross national borders for professional opportunities and leisure.
As the border checks in the pandemic reminded us, the days of queuing at the border are thankfully behind us. We intend to keep it that way. The European institutions should act to reverse the steady re-emergence and illegally unlimited maintenance of border checks within the Schengen area, especially based on the justification of migration. As EU members who have met all the requirements for Schengen membership, Bulgaria and Romania should be welcomed so their citizens can enjoy their full rights as EU citizens.
Policing without prejudice
No one in the European Union is above the law, including police and security agencies. This core principle that protects everybody’s fundamental rights is regularly undermined, seen in all too often cases of police brutality.
To protect the rights of racialized groups disproportionately at risk of police violence and profiling, the EU’s Race Equality Directive should be updated to explicitly cover policing and institutional violence. With the right to protest increasingly under threat, we will defend the right to assembly and peacefully demonstrate in line with international and European law.
A European fight against organized crime
Organized crime harms our democracies, puts lives at risk, and destroys local environments. As organized crime is transnational, it can only be fought through European cooperation. We support policies that improve exchange and information flows between European police and intelligence services and would create a Europe-wide exchange programme for police officers.