The Parliament of Rights - 3rd edition aims at contributing to a better understanding of the role of the European Parliament, as the only institution directly elected by European citizens, in the democratic life of the Union, in defining European policies for fundamental rights, and on crucial matters for the future of our continent such as climate, the environment, migration, and digital. In this complex moment for our continent, now is the time to imagine post-pandemic Europe. We will be doing this by promoting an informed, open, and plural public debate that will involve MEPs, experts, journalists, students, teachers, and policymakers in debates, seminars, and workshops. We thus intend to make our contribution to the participation of citizens in the European decision-making process and civil society’s capacity for action at the transnational level, which is essential for relaunching the European project from below and promoting a Europe of rights.

In its role as co-decision-maker, the European Parliament is called upon to express itself on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum proposed by the EU Commission. The challenge is to strengthen solidarity between states in creating a common system that respects the fundamental rights of asylum seekers

The Green deal is at the heart of the COVID-19 recovery plan, as requested by the European Parliament. The fight against climate change, protection of biodiversity and forests, clean energy, and circular economy are priority issues on the agenda of the EP which, in 2019, approved a resolution declaring the climate emergency

In the post-COVID world, the EU will find itself leading the responses to the global challenges we face. Strengthening multilateralism, combating climate change, unambiguously managing relations with autocracies, and advancing the Enlargement process are just some of the issues that the European Parliament will face in its role of fostering political dialogue and democratic control of common foreign policy

In times of technological developments of great magnitude, increasing importance of our digital identities, risks and opportunities linked to surveillance, and changes within the media and journalism sphere, the European Parliament is a privileged forum for discussing the challenges posed by digital transformation to rights and democracy: the place for a debate on the virtual world where we and the future generations will live

Equality is one of the fundamental values underpinning the EU, which has a mandate to combat discrimination. Despite the progress made over the past twenty years on European anti-discrimination law, important legislative gaps remain. On several occasions, the EP has  stressed the need to fill these gaps by asking for the adoption of a directive offering wider protection, the so-called 'horizontal directive', blocked by the Council since 2008.