This year, the Parliament decided not to repeat the thematic structure of previous resolutions on Fundamental Rights, which in the past had provided much welcome opportunities to call on the EU and the member States to protect the rights of various minorities, including LGBT people.

However, following the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, the Parliament did a useful work by providing a strong opinion on the functioning of the new fundamental rights architecture of the Union.

The Parliament clearly stated that the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), the relevant sectors of the European Commission and the relevant configurations of the Council should fully cooperate and work with other international Human Rights institution, to ensure an optimal level of protection to EU citizens and residents. MEPs also fully supported the EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

In addition, some recommendations confirm the support provided by the Parliament to the enhancement of LGBT fundamental rights standards. For instance, the Parliament “draws the attention to its resolutions […] on discrimination against same-sex marriages and civil-partnership couples”.

The Parliament also mentions the need of “urgent concrete steps, mid-term strategies and long-term solutions, as well as follow-up by EU institutions”, including on “prohibiting and eliminating all forms of discrimination, based on Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, in all areas of life”. Article 21 of the Charter includes the prohibition of any discrimination based on any ground, and explicitly mentions sexual orientation.

The resolution finally includes important elements as regards some non-EU countries, as the Parliament supports the extension of the monitoring role of the FRA to the so-called accession countries, including Turkey and the Balkans.

The final report was adopted by an overall majority of 585 votes (out of a total of 736 members).