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Equinet - the European Network of Equality Bodies

Equinet

Equinet is the European Network of Equality Bodies, bringing together 47 public organisations across Europe that assist discrimination victims and promote equality.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Krzysztof Śmiszek (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

20 Jan 2026 · AgoraEU

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and The European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association and

5 Nov 2025 · Anti-discrimination

Equinet warns against weakening AI Act fundamental rights protections

14 Oct 2025
Topic — The Commission is consulting on simplifying digital regulations through a new Digital Omnibus.
Message — Equinet urges achieving regulatory clarity through guidance instead of legislative amendments. They insist that fundamental rights impact assessments and transparency obligations must be fully preserved. Changes at this stage risk undermining protections for equality and non-discrimination.123
Why — Maintaining current rules ensures equality bodies have the evidence needed to enforce anti-discrimination laws.45
Impact — Individuals affected by discriminatory AI systems would lose essential transparency and legal redress.67
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Meeting with Hadja Lahbib (Commissioner) and

17 Sept 2025 · Present EQUINET work and discuss current equality priorities

Response to Anti-racism Strategy

8 Jul 2025

The EU Anti-Racism Action Plan 20202025 was a landmark recognition of the persistence of racism and the need for institutional responses across the European Union. Yet, as Equinet and its members have observed, implementation has been uneven and limited in its reach and structural impact. For the 20262030 Strategy, the EU must move from acknowledging racism to addressing it systemically by embedding anti-racism across all levels of governance, legislation, and public policy. This submission highlights core priorities to shape a stronger, more impactful EU Anti-Racism Strategy. First and foremost, it urges the explicit recognition and operationalisation of structural racism. Discrimination in Europe is not only interpersonal; it is embedded in legal, political, and institutional systems that maintain racial hierarchies. The new Strategy must define structural racism and guide Member States in tackling its systemic manifestations. An intersectional approach is equally critical. Many racialised people, especially women, migrants, LGBTIQ+ persons, and people with disabilities, face compounded discrimination that is often invisible in law and policy. EU action must reflect these realities through inclusive data collection, analysis, and targeted responses. Reliable, disaggregated equality data remains fundamental to diagnosing inequalities and developing evidence-based policies. Yet such data remains scarce or politically contested across Europe. The EU should lead by establishing a legal and ethical framework for equality data collection and provide financial and technical support to Member States, Equality Bodies and racialized communities. The Strategy must also prioritise access to justice, addressing the lack of legal remedies and enforcement at national and EU levels. Victims of racism face complex procedures, lack of support, and fear of retaliation. The EU should strengthen the mandates and independence of Equality Bodies, enable strategic litigation, and ensure effective application of the Race Equality Directive. Key sectors must be addressed: education (inclusive curricula and anti-racism training), AI and technology (discriminatory algorithms and digital profiling), healthcare (systemic racism in medical systems), law enforcement (racial profiling and institutional abuse), and migration (racialised exclusion of migrants from rights frameworks). Tackling hate speech and hate crime also requires coordinated EU action, including common definitions, data collection, and online platform accountability. The Strategy should support victims, particularly those targeted by intersectional and online hate. A sustainable EU anti-racism strategy must create space for anti-racist civil society organisations. Today, these actors face shrinking civic space, far-right hostility, and chronic underfunding. The EU must protect human rights defenders, simplify access to funding, and enable genuine co-creation processes. Finally, the Strategy must prioritise cooperation, horizontally across EU institutions and vertically with Member States, local authorities, Equality Bodies, and CSOs. Effective governance, monitoring, and data-sharing depend on inclusive and coordinated partnerships. Equinet remains committed to supporting Equality Bodies and EU institutions in realising a more equal, inclusive, and anti-racist Europe. The recommendations outlined in this submission are grounded in the experiences of Equality Bodies across the EU and build on good practices, evidence, and the urgent need for systemic change.
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Meeting with Ana Carla Pereira (Director Justice and Consumers) and

19 Mar 2025 · Exchange of views on the Cooperation with National Equality Bodies

Meeting with Krzysztof Śmiszek (Member of the European Parliament)

20 Feb 2025 · Anti-discrimination

Meeting with Kim Van Sparrentak (Member of the European Parliament) and European Disability Forum and AGE Platform Europe

19 Feb 2025 · Withdrawal horizontal anti-discrimination directive

Meeting with Ana Carla Pereira (Director Justice and Consumers) and

29 Jan 2025 · Exchange of views on equality bodies

Meeting with Halliki Voolma (Cabinet of Commissioner Hadja Lahbib)

23 Jan 2025 · Exchange to plan and pursue close cooperation between Equality Bodies/Equinet and the European Commission, to effectively support and connect to the work of the Cabinet and of Commissioner Lahbib ahead.

Meeting with Kim Van Sparrentak (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Dec 2024 · Coding Equality in the EU AI Act

Meeting with Ádám Kósa (Member of the European Parliament) and European Disability Forum and European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities

16 Apr 2024 · Social inclusion of people with disabilities

Meeting with Helena Dalli (Commissioner) and

10 Apr 2024 · Introductory meeting with new Chair of Equinet to discuss the directives on standards for equality bodies.

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

8 Apr 2024 · The Equal Treatment Directive

Meeting with Helena Dalli (Commissioner) and

11 Oct 2023 · Commissioner Helena Dalli helds a keynote speech at Equinet focused on EU Standards for Equality Bodies as well as challenges and opportunities towards the future of the Union of Equality.

Meeting with Irène Tolleret (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

30 Aug 2023 · Organismes pour l'égalité de traitement

Meeting with Sirpa Pietikäinen (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

30 Aug 2023 · Equality Bodies

Meeting with Marc Angel (Member of the European Parliament) and EUROPEAN TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION

30 Aug 2023 · equality bodies

Meeting with Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

12 Jul 2023 · Equality Bodies

Meeting with Sirpa Pietikäinen (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

1 Jun 2023 · Directive for Equality Bodies

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur for opinion)

25 May 2023 · Equality Bodies

Meeting with Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

25 May 2023 · Equality Bodies

Meeting with Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

30 Mar 2023 · Equality Bodies

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament) and European Network Against Racism

9 Feb 2023 · Speaker: Being Black in Europe - Two Years on From the BLM Protests, What Change Has There Been in Europe

Meeting with Frances Fitzgerald (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and EUROPEAN TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION and

27 Oct 2022 · Proposal for a Directive on combatting violence against women and domestic violence

Meeting with Annelisa Cotone (Cabinet of Commissioner Helena Dalli), Silvan Agius (Cabinet of Commissioner Helena Dalli)

12 Oct 2022 · Meeting to discuss legislative proposal on equality bodies.

Meeting with Silvan Agius (Cabinet of Commissioner Helena Dalli)

5 Oct 2022 · Speaker at Equinet Conference

Meeting with Kim Van Sparrentak (Member of the European Parliament)

5 Sept 2022 · AI Act

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and The European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association and

20 Jun 2022 · Anti-discrimination and Intersectionality

Meeting with Robert Biedroń (Member of the European Parliament, Committee chair)

15 Jun 2022 · Gender Equality

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Jun 2022 · Equality and Non-discrimination

Meeting with Helena Dalli (Commissioner) and

18 Feb 2022 · Meet and greet of Equinet’s new Chairperson (since November 2021), Laurence Bond, Director of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission as well as discussion on joint priorities and ways to support each other’s endeavours.

Meeting with Helena Dalli (Commissioner)

19 Nov 2021 · Commissioner Dalli delivered a keynote speech at the opening session of an EQUINET conference aimed at representatives of equality bodies and policymakers at both European and national level.

Meeting with Silvan Agius (Cabinet of Commissioner Helena Dalli)

9 Nov 2021 · To discuss cooperation in 2022 around the European Year of the Youth

Meeting with Helena Dalli (Commissioner)

21 Sept 2021 · Ms Helena Dalli holds a videoconference call with Ms Tena Simonovic Einwalter, the Croatian Ombudswoman and Chair of EQUINET

Response to Binding standards for equality bodies

19 Aug 2021

Equinet welcomes that, as announced in the EU Anti-racism Action Plan, the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, the Disability Strategy and the EU Roma Strategic Framework for Equality, Inclusion and Participation, the Commission intends to present legislation to strengthen the role and independence of equality bodies. We have noted and pointed out in different Equinet papers (the latest one being our paper ‘Legislating for stronger, more effective equality bodies: Key elements for and expectations from future EU legislation on equality bodies’ published in spring 2021, following the release of the European Commission’s report on the implementation of the Race and Employment Equality Directives) that due to the wide margin of discretion left to the Member States by the provisions on equality bodies, there are important divergences in their implementation. This affects many aspects and, in particular, the mandate, powers, leadership, independence, resources, accessibility, and effectiveness of equality bodies. We agree with the Commission’s assessment that while part of the situation is linked to the variety of legal traditions and legal systems in Member States, it also reflects different levels of ambition and achievement in Member States pursuing the objectives of the Directives. We support the Commission’s identification of the ultimate problem: that this situation results in a very unequal protection against discrimination across the EU, undermining key values of the EU, in particular the foundational value of equality, and undermining the effective implementation of EU legislation. This in itself underlines the importance and pertinence of this initiative. We welcome that Equinet and national equality bodies are identified as main stakeholders in the process and that in-depth interviews will be carried out with all equality bodies. Please find attached Equinet's input to this roadmap.
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Response to EU strategy on combating antisemitism

5 Jul 2021

The European Network of Equality Bodies (Equinet), comprises 47-national equality bodies (NEBs) from 37 jurisdictions across the wider European region, including all EU Member States. Equinet promotes equality in Europe by supporting and enabling the work of national equality bodies, as well as supporting equality bodies to be independent and effective catalysts for more equal societies. Equality bodies are public institutions set up across Europe to promote equality and tackle discrimination on grounds of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, religion and belief, disability or other grounds. Equality bodies are at the heart of the national infrastructure for equality, cooperating with all relevant equality stakeholders. They are authoritative voices in matters of equality and non-discrimination. As the first point of contact for victims of discrimination, they have an extensive understanding of how discrimination affects people in Europe, and they can provide reliable “on the ground” information about the existing challenges. Equality Bodies play a fundamental role in the non-discrimination architecture of their countries. Their role is defined in accordance with EU equal treatment legislation requiring Member States (and EU accession countries) to set up equality bodies to combat discrimination based on race and ethnic origin, as well as gender. Many Member States have gone beyond these requirements and ensured that equality bodies can also deal with discrimination based on other grounds. These bodies have a distinct role from national governments and civil society organisations. Equinet welcomes that given the rise in antisemitism, the Commission will present before the end of the year a comprehensive strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life in the EU. It is noteworthy and positive that the Roadmap foresees cooperation and synergies with the EU’s Anti-Racism Action Plan. We note that addressing online antisemitism, ensuring security for Jewish communities, Holocaust remembrance and education are key aims of the future strategy. We welcome that Equinet and national equality bodies are identified as main stakeholders in the process. Recommendations stemming from the work and experience of equality bodies In looking forward, the European Commission and the Member States could usefully consider the following proposals: - Enhance EU and national equality legislation, including legislation covering hate speech and hate crime to extend the coverage to all grounds, fields and forms of discrimination related to antisemitism. - Review equality legislation and its implementation to guarantee that it is effectively enforced, including by enhancing access to justice for victims of discrimination and by an evaluation and adjustment of the effectiveness and dissuasiveness of sanctions. - Ensure a dedicated legislative proposal fully in line with the European Commission Recommendation on standards for equality bodies of 2018 with particular provisions to ensure a mandate that encompasses all grounds, fields and forms of antisemitism; all necessary powers of equality bodies; and adequate funding for equality bodies to implement all of their functions to the scale required to make an impact. - Require Member States to present action plans and detailed information describing the measures taken to map and address antisemitism, alongside the targets and the monitoring system used to account for specific results achieved. - Ensure that any EU and Member State action in designed and carried out in consultation and close cooperation with relevant actors, including civil society organisations, Jewish communities, relevant public institutions and equality bodies. For further information, please refer to the attached submission.
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Meeting with Saskia Bricmont (Member of the European Parliament)

21 May 2021 · Europol regulation reform

Response to Extension of the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime

20 Apr 2021

Equinet has taken note of the European Commission’s intention to propose the extension of the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime – whether because of race, religion, gender or sexuality – with great interest. We welcome the European Commission’s commitment to strengthen the fight against hate speech and hate crime in Europe and the opportunity to provide feedback at this stage. Hate speech and hate crime are characterised by targeting an individual based on their affiliation to a specific group, creating a context of tension, division, and stereotyping that motivates higher levels of discrimination. Thus, hate speech and hate crime not only have consequences for the individual to whom it is targeted but also have consequences for the group to which the individual belongs or with which the individual identifies. Moreover, hate speech and hate crime are often targeted at those groups covered by equal treatment legislation on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability and age. Therefore, hate speech and hate crime could also be seen as representing the most extreme forms of discrimination. This makes both hate speech and hate crime an important area of concern to equality bodies with their statutory mandates to promote equality and combat discrimination on these grounds. Our work and the insights we receive from our members reveal shortcomings of the present in the light of unrealized -thought not unrealizable – possibilities for non-discrimination and equality and convince us of the need for strengthening the existing normative framework to address hate speech and hate crime successfully. In looking forward, the European Commission and the Member States could usefully take action to: 1. Enhance holistic legislation on preventing and combating hate speech to ensure uniform definition, extend the coverage to all grounds and set out a mix of criminal and administrative channels to address cases. This should include measures to ensure that equality legislation is effectively enforced, including by enhancing access to justice for victims of discrimination and by an evaluation and adjustment of the effectiveness and dissuasiveness of sanctions in hate speech and hate crime cases. 2. Improve the policy context by developing multi-annual action plans on hate speech, under which the Member States should present detailed information describing the measures taken to map the issue as well as the monitoring system used to account for specific results achieved. 3. Ensure a dedicated legislative proposal fully in line with the European Commission Recommendation on standards for equality bodies of 2018 with particular provisions to ensure a mandate that encompasses hate speech, and adequate funding for equality bodies to implement all of their functions to the scale required to make an impact. 4. Ensure that any EU action, under the existing or new legislation, should be accompanied by public awareness-raising campaigns that involve directly affected communities in their development and design. They should go beyond social media campaigns to support national and local efforts focused on encouraging tolerance and intercultural understanding as well as promoting alternative narratives based on EU values of equality. 5. Promote a more proactive approach (in comparison to the current reactive approach) addressing hate speech and hate crime by for example providing legal standing and adequate powers to equality bodies so they can initiate cases in the absence of an individual victim. 6. Ensure adequate procedures and structures aimed at preventing secondary and repeat victimisation. For this purpose, measures aimed at capacity building and awareness-raising among all practitioners who come into contact with victims, including law enforcement, are essential. Our full submission is attached.
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Response to Union of Equality: European Disability Rights Strategy

12 Nov 2020

About Equinet The European Network of Equality Bodies (Equinet), is an association registered in Belgium representing national equality bodies (NEBs) across Europe. Equinet membership comprises 49-member organisations from 37 jurisdictions (including all EU Member States). Our mission involves promoting equality in Europe by supporting and enabling the work of national equality bodies, as well as supporting equality bodies to be independent and effective catalysts for more equal societies. Equality bodies are public institutions set up across Europe to promote equality and tackle discrimination on grounds of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, religion and belief, disability or other grounds. Equality bodies are at the heart of the national infrastructure for equality, cooperating with all relevant equality stakeholders. They are authoritative voices in matters of equality and non-discrimination. As a first point of contact for victims of discrimination, they have an extensive understanding of how discrimination affects people in Europe, and they can provide reliable “on the ground” information about the existing challenges. Equality Bodies play a fundamental role in the non-discrimination architecture of their countries. Their role is defined in accordance with EU equal treatment legislation requiring Member States (and EU accession countries) to set up equality bodies to combat discrimination based on race and ethnic origin, as well as gender. Many Member States (from now on MS) have gone beyond these requirements and ensured that equality bodies can also deal with discrimination based on other grounds. A number of Equality Bodies have additionally been named UNCRPD article 32(3) independent monitoring mechanisms. In the supporting document, Equinet summarizes key recommendations regarding the ‘Disability rights strategy for 2021-30’. Among others, key areas include: - UNCRPD compliance - Equality Bodies - Accessibility - Equality Data - Employment - Education - De-institutionalisation and Independent Living - Equality mainstreaming and intersectionality
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Meeting with Věra Jourová (Vice-President) and

22 Apr 2020 · impact of COVID19 crisis on equality

Meeting with Helena Dalli (Commissioner)

22 Apr 2020 · Impact of COVID-19 on equality

Response to New Strategy for the Implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights

16 Apr 2020

About Equinet The European Network of Equality Bodies (Equinet), comprises 49-national equality bodies (NEBs) from 37 jurisdictions across the wider European region, including all EU Member States. Equinet promotes equality in Europe by supporting and enabling the work of national equality bodies, as well as supporting equality bodies to be independent and effective catalysts for more equal societies. Equality bodies are public institutions set up across Europe to promote equality and tackle discrimination on grounds of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, religion and belief, disability or other grounds. Equality bodies are at the heart of the national infrastructure for equality, cooperating with all relevant equality stakeholders. They are authoritative voices in matters of equality and non-discrimination. As a first point of contact for victims of discrimination, they have an extensive understanding of how discrimination affects people in Europe, and they can provide reliable “on the ground” information about the existing challenges. Equinet Recommendations for the new strategy and NEBs Summarizing what has been established above, Equinet recommendations for the ‘New Strategy for the Implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights’ can be summarized as follows: - NEBs, as equality watchdogs in their respective countries should be involved as priority partners in the conceptualisation and implementation of the new Charter strategy, following the example showed through the Targeted consultation on equality bodies in the EU and the results this consultation process renders. - The new Strategy should ensure that key stakeholders such as equality bodies are adequately funded to enable their role as users of the Charter and allow for NEBs acting as multipliers for increasing Charter awareness and use. - The Commission should ensure that the role foreseen for NEBs in the new Charter Strategy is coherent with and supports the Commission Recommendation on Standards for Equality Bodies. - Targeted group training should be a priority. Staff from NEBs should be targeted for transnational training on the use of the Charter. Training at the international level amongst NEB peers would allow for better pollination of good practices and boost support in the use of the Charter. Beneficiaries of ‘targeted group training’ should be targeted across the board, given that the sole training of (for instance) NEB personnel staff would not be enough if other key actors that would need to also use the Charter are not aware of the potential and strengths of it. - ‘Targeted group-training’ should be followed by horizontal training at the national level that brings together relevant actors that previously received the ‘targeted group training’ to identify interconnections and construct synergies on the use of the Charter. - To better tailor the contents of trainings and guidance materials to the needs of the target groups, it is necessary to conduct needs assessments and research on their current and potential engagement with and use of the Charter. In the case of NEBs, owing to their diversity, research from FRA on the role and capacities of the heterogeneous mandates and capacities should be encouraged. - Sustained and tailored useful content— in the form of training and various capacity building initiatives— should be provided to all relevant stakeholders such as NEBs, including legal guidance materials on the Charter, with particular attention to its added-value (e.g. the number of protected grounds) in fields relatively well covered by EU secondary legislation and in view of non-discrimination provisions of the ECHR and the European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence built around it; as well as on the field of applicability. - Training should be done with due regard to accessibility requirements. Likewise, all materials produced should be available in a practical, easily and fully accessible format.
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Meeting with Monika Ladmanova (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová)

7 Sept 2017 · Equinet 10th anniversary conference

Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

6 Sept 2017 · Discussion on gender equality

Meeting with Sarah Nelen (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

19 Jan 2017 · Equality policies

Meeting with Monika Ladmanova (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová)

30 Aug 2016 · Equal Treatment Directive

Meeting with Bernd Martenczuk (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans), Michelle Sutton (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

4 Mar 2016 · Role of European equality bodies

Meeting with Monika Ladmanova (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová)

2 Feb 2016 · Equality bodies work

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Commissioner) and

27 Aug 2015 · Equality bodies management and opportunities