Democracy & freedom
Our relentless fight for democracy, rule of law, civil rights and freedoms
What unites Europeans transcends economic interests. Our common values of democracy, human rights, and respect for the rule of law are what truly connect us. Renew Europe is proud to be the foremost defender of these values within the European Parliament, and we have done our utmost to defend these values and protect citizens against illiberal voices in Europe.
6.1 EU funds tied to democracy
Linking EU funds to upholding democratic standards
Throughout this legislative term, Renew Europe has championed the fight against corruption and illiberalism, the defending the Rule of Law and liberal democracy. Our tireless advocacy has resulted in a significant milestone—the establishment of a groundbreaking tool that ties EU subsidies to a rigorous assessment of the rule of law in each EU country, known as the Rule of Law Conditionality Mechanism.
6.2 Stand against illegal spying
Renew europe stands against illegal spying on eu citizens
Amid a scandal about European governments going after their opposition using increasingly intrusive methods, we campaigned to stop the use of Pegasus and other intrusive hacking spyware.
Certain governments in Europe have resorted to an illicit form of spyware developed in Israel, capable of infiltrating anyone’s phone with a single click, deploying a virus that seizes full control over the mobile device. High-level politicians, judges, independent prosecutors, lawyers, journalists and human rights activists were carefully chosen as targets.
Renew Europe ardently fought for the creation of a special inquiry committee, called PEGA that successfully investigated cases of illegal spying across the EU. Our objective was twofold: to lay down a legal framework for the legitimate use of surveillance software and to create an EU Tech Lab for comprehensive oversight.
6.3 Fundamental right to abortion
Your body, your rights!
Safe and legal abortion is a fundamental right. Including this right in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights will make sure that no government can take it away from its citizens.
Globally, the right to safe and legal abortion care is under threat. Even within the EU, abortion is still banned in two countries (Malta and de facto in Poland) and challenging to access in some countries and regions of countries like Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Italy or Croatia.
6.4 A safer Europe for women
Creating a european union where all women can feel safe
In the pursuit of ensuring the safety of women across Member States, Renew Europe has played a pivotal role in securing adherence to the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.
Women deserve to feel just as safe as men in this world, however this is not currently the case. Legislation on domestic violence and violence against women is often not enforced and it can be difficult for victims to access the services they require due to stigma, fear, and lack of availability among other factors.
In 2023, the European Parliament and the Council voted in favour of the EU ratification of the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. This is an internationally binding agreement to combat violence against women and girls and domestic violence. This Convention criminalises psychological violence, stalking, physical violence, sexual violence including rape, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, forced abortion, forced sterilization and sexual harassment. It also requires that protection is given to women regardless of age, disability, marital status, association with a national minority, migrant or refugee status, gender identity or sexual orientation.
6.5 Europe: LGBTIQ freedom zone
Declaring Europe an LGBTIQ freedom zone
Renew Europe staunchly upholds the rights of all LGBTIQ+ individuals. As the leading advocate for the rights of sexual minorities, our group provided leadership for the European Parliament to push back against discriminatory measures in a number of Member States.
Our Group has traditionally fought for equal rights & opportunities of LGBTIQ+ individuals in the EU and beyond. Although the majority of Member States have legal measures against discrimination, they are not sufficiently implemented, leaving members of the LGBTIQ+ community vulnerable to hate crimes and discrimination in their daily lives.
6.6 Protecting press freedom
Free media = free minds
To counter the diminishing independence of media outlets across Europe, Renew Europe has taken decisive actions to fortify the protection of press freedom and journalists’ rights.
The best indicator of a healthy democracy is a strong and independent press. According to the Media Pluralism Monitor 2022, 21 EU Member States are at medium to high risk regarding media pluralism, signaling concerning trends in media freedom. The new legislation aims at advancing the internal market in the media sector and protecting media freedom, pluralism, and independence in the European single market. The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) will benefit all different stakeholders: media companies, public service media, journalists and media professionals.
6.7 Truly European elections
A real union needs truly european elections
We want to give the European voters the chance to vote for European political parties through European election campaigns on European issues. This will bring citizens closer to the European political level.
Currently the elections to the European Parliament are 27 national elections in which citizens vote for national parties on often purely national themes, while the Members of the European Parliament decide on European issues. Transnational lists will make the European elections truly European by changing the momentum so that we finally get a campaign that crosses national boundaries, and voters know they are electing politicians who truly represent Europe as a whole.
6.8 Fresh solutions for EU
Proposing fresh solutions to modernise the functioning of the EU
We want to Renew Europe and make it fit to tackle the challenges of the 21st century. To that end, we need more efficiency in its functioning and a new pact with EU citizens, reinforcing their participation and trust in European politics.
The EU may count more than 30 Member States in the near future. More than ever, a thorough update of Europe’s institutions is inevitable to preserve our welfare and agility in a rapidly changing world.
Indeed, we believe that the EU must be updated to more efficiently tackle global challenges like the war in Ukraine, migration and climate change and make it a credible geopolitical actor. That update also means involving citizens more in the decision making process beyond the day of the elections, increasing their awareness and participation in the European project.
6.9 Common EU ethics standards
Creating common ethics standards for all EU institutions
While ethics standards already existed within the European institutions for some time, these rules were very fragmented and the system solely relied on a self-regulatory approach. That is why Renew Europe has been making proposals to improve the system, harmonise ethics rules in the institutions and minimise conflicts of interests.
6.10 EU migration pact achiev
We delivered a historic agreement on the EU migration and asylum pact
Uncontrolled and illegal migration is a concern for many citizens and it is exploited by extremist and populist parties to spread fear and hatred in our societies. Renew Europe campaigned for and delivered a new, truly European approach. The European Parliament and Council reached a historical political agreement on December 20, 2023 on the reform of the European Pact on Asylum and Migration.
This agreement comes after a legislative process of more than three years. Renew Europe played a crucial role in finding a balanced approach to this complex package, consisting of nine legislative texts. They aim to provide better governance and strategic oversight of the European asylum policy among the 27 Member States. It introduces an unprecedented solidarity mechanism at the European level, aims to improve the control of irregular migration at the EU’s external borders, and seeks more harmonized and efficient asylum procedures within the EU.
The aim of these instruments is to better prepare the EU for major challenges in the area of migration, to adapt national administrations to increasing flows, to combat smugglers and criminal organisations, to counter the instrumentalisation of migration by foreign powers and to deal with pandemics and security crises.
Europe in the world
We gave unwavering support to Ukraine, Renew Europe also insisted that Europe strengthens its defense capabilities and cooperation.
