Parliament calls on the Council to finally act to tackle hate speech and hate crime in the EU. The draft report asks for progress on classifying hate speech and hate crime as “EU crimes” - a process stalled in Council since 2022. MEPs highlight the need to ensure all individuals and groups that can become targets of hate are protected, and to ensure that freedom of expression is not exploited to protect hate speech and hate crimes. They are also set to call for an “open-ended” approach whereby incidents would be assessed based on their contextual circumstances. Opening statement by Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice and Robert BIEDROŃ (S&D, PL), FEMM Committee. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check agaist delivery.

statement

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Maite (Renew, ES)

fight against hate speech, populism, and fake news on social media (T)

REYNDERS, Didier (BE, EC)

BIEDROŃ, Robert (S&D, PL)

Extending the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime: Opening statement by Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice and Robert BIEDROŃ (S&D, PL), FEMM Committee

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/74105470/1704969526243_I251388Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Maite PAGAZAURTUND&Uacute;A (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, Thank you very much, President. Dear colleagues, dear Commisioner, two years ago Commission presented a proposal to include hate speech and hate crime on the list of EU crimes. We are referring specifically, Commissioner, to such incidents that because of their severity and cross-border dimension, require an EU criminal response.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, Not everything is punishable. I'll just say that at the outset, not to confuse anyone. Now, Union law progresses more slowly than the new dynamics of hate in these digital times. And that is important to bear in mind. The current EU legal framework only covers socially motivated hate crimes and hate speech, and is limited to very few such motivating categories.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, I'll turn to the classics, Aristotle allows us to understand perfectly what we're dealing with today. He says that aggressors attack types of classes or people only because they're part of a hated collective. The substantial motives for hating these people and committing serious crimes related to them being different, seen as inferior, and that it is negative or intolerable for them to be visible.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, In the past few years, we have seen significant social changes. Social media has served to normalise, extremely hostile narratives and hate speech. And this has repercussions in real life. It leads to new crimes, and some of them are very serious. The fight against impunity in such times requires judicial rigour, but it also requires political decisiveness.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, The current EU legal framework covers hate speech and hate crimes motivated by race, skin colour, religion, national and ethnic origin. That's what we have today. Serious crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation, age, ideology, disability, to name some categories are not included. The inclusion of other types of crime in the list of EU crimes is urgent and necessary.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, It's not about defining hate speech. And it's not about defining the conditions of particular vulnerability, but the objective of this report is to issue a firm political call to the Council, which is not here, but we want the Council to move and to extend to the list. Only the French presidency was active during its presidency. Poland and Hungary expressed their opposition.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, Today, we have the Belgian presidency. It is working intensely in Brussels, but they're not here and they are not presented their apologies and that is terribly poor, because two years ago the Commission presented this proposal to Parliament and to Council. Not everything is punishable. But it is clear that inhibitions are falling and more crimes are being generated.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, The Commission, in its communication, proposed that hate speech and crimes should be dealt with efficiently when it comes to sexual orientation, discrimination based on disability, and so on and on. An initiative opinion presented today which will be voted on tomorrow.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, Well, what I wanted to say to Council, which is not here, and Commission, which is here, is two things. Not all hate speech is a crime, but everything leaves a mark. Freedom of expression should be very finely protected, and it should be infringed on only when it is fully justified. And that Council does agree on other things.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, So, we will be sending them the resolution tomorrow, so that they will know what this Parliament says and what we want. We want as soon as possible to put an end to the impunity that reigns currently. Because we do not have a consistent framework for such transnational serious crimes.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA (Renew, ES), Rapporteur, The victims who pay a very high price for this, future criminal law in this field must respect the principles of proportionality and necessity. And it must guarantee freedom of speech, of course. But I will conclude by saying that protecting people from hate speech and hate crimes should be universal. Social dynamics are changing quickly, Commissioner, and they manifested very aggressively. So, it is important to act and avoid creating any spaces with impunity. I hope that the Council will hear our please. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (French), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, Thank you very much, Madam President. Members of Parliament. Hate speech and hate crime are a serious threat, not just for the direct victims, but also for society as a whole. They threaten the very values the EU is founded upon fundamental rights, equality, democracy and the rule of law.

SOUNDBITE (French), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, In recent weeks in Europe, we have seen scenes we hope never to see again. And in particular, we've seen an alarming increase in anti-Semitism, but also certain hate speech towards Muslims. The Commission has taken measures on the 6th of September, we work together with the High Representative of the Union, Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

SOUNDBITE (French), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, A communication called "No Place for hate", which emphasises a number of measures to reinforce the protection of individuals belonging to specific religions and to limit hate speech online. Allow me to emphasise some of those points which are particularly relevant for today's debate.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, First, it is more importante than ever to ensure effective application of current EU rules relating to speech and hate crime, namely the 2008 Framework Decision on Combating Racism and Xenophobia. One of my personal commitments was to ensure that Member States correctly transposed this framework decision into national law.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, This is important to ensure that all EU citizens across the Union have the same rights and can fully exercise them. The Commission launched 13 infringement procedures relating to gaps in transposition, and since October 2020, ten Member States have taken action to change their legislation. Yet the criminalisation of speech across the European Union remains fragmented and the framework decision only covers racist and xenophobic grounds.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, In December 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council decision to include hate speech and hate crime in the list of EU crimes in article 83 of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union. If the decision is adopted, the Commission would be able to propose a common approach to the criminalisation of speech and hate crime, ensuring a consistent protection of all victims of such acts across the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, Why do countries and not yet reach the needed unanimity? The recent resurgence of hate speech and crime underlines the imperative for rapid adoption of this Council decision. We welcome the strong support and the commitment of European Parliament for this initiative. We notably welcome the adoption of your report on this file. I would like to thank in particular the LIBE Committee and our Rapporteur, Maite Pagazaurtundúa, for her commitment.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, Our recent joint communication also focuses on the need to respond to the threats of hate speech online. Since 2016, we have a code of conduct in place which aims to keep platforms accountable for kerbing hate speech on their services. Discord has been a success. According to the data we collect in our yearly monitoring exercise, content moderation is significantly improved.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, Also, a slight slowdown has been noted recently, but the digital landscape has evolved in the last two years, in particular, after the entry into force of the Digital Services Act in November 2022. The DSA requires all online platforms to have in place notice and action systems to allow for users reports on illegal content, including hate speech. Codes of conduct will continue to be an important tool under the DSA, in particular as part of the platform's response to systemic risks.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, This is why we are advancing fast towards the adoption of a revised Code of Conduct. The main objective of the revision is to improve its preventive capability and help anticipate rising threats of hate speech before they go viral. I am confident that the negotiations will be concluded soon, and that the new code will also be granted at the status of a DSA, Code of conduct.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, In December, communication also recalls the importance of advancing on tackling antisemitism by intensifying the implementation of the 2021-2030 EU strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish Life. The EU Anti-racism Action Plan 2020-2025, as well as of the other equality strategies.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, After the attack by Hamas against Israel of the 7th of October and the war that ensued, antisemitic incidents have spiked both online and offline. Today, many European Jews are again living in fear, and some even feel obliged to hide their identity. At the same time, we have seen some increase in anti-Muslim hatred and indeed a general rise in hate speech, notably online.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, Combating racism and discrimination, countering negative stereotypes and ensuring equality in societies true positive action continues to be central. We are stepping up a force to fight hatchets in all its forms by reinforcing action across a variety of policies including security, digital, education, culture and sport.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, Finally, the joint communication provides that the Commission's coordinators on combating anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hatred and on combating racism will be upgraded to envoys with a view to maximising the potential of EU policies to combat hatred. So, I thank you for your commitment to fight us against all those form of hate speech and hate crime, and I will be pleased to listen to your remarks and your proposal during this debate. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Robert BIEDROŃ (S&D, PL), Chair of FEMM Committee, Dear President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues. Hate speech and hate crimes are our shared European problems. It is clear that with internet and social media, hate does not stop at any borders. It becomes widespread. It becomes our European problem. This is why we call again on the Council to take the decision to add hate speech and hate crimes to the list of Europe crimes.

SOUNDBITE (English), Robert BIEDROŃ (S&D, PL), Chair of FEMM Committee, I am disappointed that this seat today is empty. What is more, we need to ensure that sexism and gender based hate speech will be explicitly defined in the legislation that will follow. Today, 52% of women and girls have experienced online crime, including hate speech and sexual harassment.

SOUNDBITE (English), Robert BIEDROŃ (S&D, PL), Chair of FEMM Committee, Women and minorities are targeted in the real world and online by individuals, and as well as by organised, well-organised, far right and anti gender movements who work to undermine our European values. Tolerance and respect for one and another are principles that all Member States share with each other and therefore tackling hate crimes should be our shared common responsibility. Thank you very much.