EU democracies suffered extra blows during the pandemic, according to our annual report. Good news: the EU has all the tools needed to protect and promote human rights in member states.
The EU is considering new legislation which could seriously endanger free speech. More than 60 human rights and journalist organisations have written an open letter to all Members of the European Parliament urging them to reject this text.
A new Liberties report finds that authoritarian governments in the EU upped their attacks against critical journalists and citizens' groups using COVID-19 as cover. But governments in traditionally stronger democracies have also done damage.
During the first half of February 2021, Belgium witnessed a decrease in the number of weekly reported cases of COVID-19. However, the situation remained concerning, especially due to the spread of new strains of the virus.
Corruption misdirects public funds away from essential services that support citizens through the pandemic. Many governments have made it harder to monitor public spending, according to our new EU-wide report.
Authoritarians in Hungary, Poland and Slovenia abused the pandemic to continue eroding democratic standards, but traditionally strong democracies also disappoint. Here are some of the media coverage about our latest report.