EU's anti-racism strategy blind on immigration

The European Commission's updated Anti-Racism Strategy has drawn sharp criticism from civil society, who say it failed to target anti-immigrant rhetoric.

The new strategy, published on Tuesday (20 January), follows an EU anti-racism action plan in place between 2020 and 2025, which was launched shortly after protest waves across Europe under the "Black Lives Matter" banner.

Almost six years later, the political climate has dramatically shifted. With far-right parties on the rise across Europe, racist behaviour has become increasingly normalised — as recently seen in the Portuguese presidential election.

The updated EU strategy focuses on improving data collection, supporting victims, and strengthening enforcement of existing anti-discrimination laws.

However, it excludes any reference to migration policy, a significant omission given the intersection between anti-migrant rhetoric and racism in contemporary European politics.

The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) criticised the commission's approach, stating that while the organisation was deeply involved in the public consultation process, it was excluded from the actual drafting.

"The strategy fails to respond to the scale, urgency and structural nature of racism in the EU," ENAR co-coordinator Julie Pascoet told EUobserver.

"Rather than marking a decisive break from the shortcomings of the 2020-2025 Anti-Racism Action Plan, it largely recycles existing approaches, relies on non-binding measures, and avoids confronting the EU's own responsibility in sustaining structural racism," she added.

ENAR called for a bold EU agenda that mainstreamed anti-racist principles across all policies and tackled racism at its roots.

It said the EU strategy must protect anti-racist civil society organisations, especially those led by racialised people, and support migrants, who face increasing defunding, threats, and criminalisation.

"Structural racism is everywhere," commissioner for equality Hadja Lahbib also said on Tuesday when presenting the strategy to journalists, but her presentation left many of ENAR's concerns unaddressed.

French green MEP Mélissa Camara, co-chair of the anti-racism intergroup in parliament, called the strategy "disappointing."

"To effectively combat systemic racism, we need legally binding legislation and effective sanctions," she told EUobserver, calling on member states to finally adopt the equal treatment directive that the commission tabled back in 2008 — 17 years ago.

That directive, which would extend anti-discrimination protections beyond employment to areas like healthcare, education, and access to goods and services, has been blocked in the council by several member states.

Despite the criticism, commissioner Lahbib expressed confidence that the strategy would gain support.

She expects backing in both the council and parliament, even as far-right politicians continue to gain ground across Europe.

Whether her optimism is justified remains to be seen, particularly given the growing influence of parties that have built their support partly on anti-immigrant and nationalist platforms.

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