Year XXXVIII, Number 3, November 2025

European Movement

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the proclamation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Nice, representatives of European civil society came together to reaffirm their commitment to the founding values of the European Union. In the face of growing challenges to the rule of law, freedoms and fundamental rights in Europe and beyond, they adopted on the 7th of December 2025 this Declaration of Nice following two study days held in Nice on 5th and 6th of December 2025.

Twenty-five years ago in Nice, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union was proclaimed. Since the Treaty of Lisbon came into force in 2009, its application has helped to strengthen and guarantee the rights of everyone in the European Union. Together with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, established in 1950, the Charter constitutes a system of rights protection that is unique in the world. It is the constitutional foundation of the European Union, giving full meaning to European citizenship.

The European Movement - International played a decisive role in the drafting of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, its promotion and its signing in the 1990s through the creation of the Permanent Forum of Civil Society, which was behind an ambitious first draft that inspired the German government’s initiative. This respected the constitutional content of the Draft Treaty establishing the European Union adopted by the European Parliament on February 14, 1984 (“Spinelli Draft”).

At a time when the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter are being called into question, and in the face of internal and external threats to this system of rights protection, we, the undersigned representatives of civil society and supporters of freedom and European unity :

1. Let us call on European institutions, Member States, and civil society to support and apply the European Charter of Fundamental Rights without reservation and to realize its full potential.

2. Let us demand that European institutions take the necessary measures to ensure respect for the rule of law in all countries of the European Union, which is an essential condition for the proper application of the Charter, and in particular commit to making all European funds conditional on respect for the rule of law, democratic principles, and fundamental rights, and to amending the procedure under Article 7 of the TEU to entrust its application to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which is independent of the governments of the Member States;

3. Demand that all European Union policies respect the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Charter of Fundamental Rights;

4. Demand that the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as the principles and values set out in the European treaties, remain mandatory conditions for membership of the European Union ;

5. Let us call on the institutions of the European Union to promote the values of the Union and fundamental rights more actively on the international stage, particularly in international organizations and negotiations, and in partnership agreements with third countries, in order to strengthen the protection of fundamental rights and respect for democratic principles throughout the world ;

6. Call on the European Union to step up its efforts to raise awareness of the Charter and the rights it enshrines for European citizens, to train magistrates and legal practitioners in Europe, to support civil society working to promote the Charter and access to rights, and to promote European civic education;

7. Call on the European Union to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations Covenant, in accordance with the commitments it has made in the past;

8. Let us call for the opening of a democratic and constituent process with a view to the drafting and entry into force, among the peoples and states that so desire, of a new constitutional treaty inspired by the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, the core of common values and principles, with the aim of ensuring the success of future enlargements.

Cherishing the freedom guaranteed by this system of rights protection in Europe, we are committed to working, by all means at our disposal, to defend, apply, and promote the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Nice, December 7, 2025

Among the first signatories of the Declaration of Nice: Guy Verhofstadt, President of the European Movement – International, former Belgian Prime Minister and former Member of the European Parliament Fabienne Keller, Member of the European Parliament, Quaestor of the European Parliament Hervé Moritz, President of the European Movement – France Pier-Virgilio Dastoli, President of the European Movement – Italy Domenec Ruiz Devesa, President of the Union of European Federalists Daphne Gogou, President of the Union of European Federalists – Greece Chloé Fabre, President of the Union of European Federalists – France Aurore Laloux, President of the Young Europeans – France Magali Altounian, President of the CIVEX Commission at the Committee of the Regions, President of the Europe Commission of the Région Sud, Deputy Mayor of Nice Lucia Serena Rossi, former member of the Court of Justice of the European Union Cecilia Rizcallah, Professor of European Law and Fundamental Rights at UC Louvain Find the full list of signatories of the Declaration of Nice.