Civil society coalition calls on Metsola to address rise in discriminatory rhetoric in the European Parliament

A broad coalition of civil society organisations has today sent a joint letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, calling for stronger action to address the increasing normalisation of discriminatory rhetoric within the European Parliament.

The letter follows the 17 June plenary session in which a group of Members of the European Parliament chanted “send them back” after the adoption of the Return Regulation, which will accelerate the exclusion, mass detention, and deportation of asylum seekers and migrants to countries outside of Europe.

The signatories urge President Metsola to publicly condemn the incident and clarify what measures will be taken to ensure that Parliament’s standards of conduct are consistently upheld.

The coalition argues that the incident is not an isolated occurrence, but part of a broader deterioration of political discourse within the Parliament. Civil society organisations have raised growing concerns about the normalisation of rhetoric targeting migrants, LGBTI people, women, racialised communities and other minorities.

These concerns reflect wider trends documented over the past year. ILGA-Europe’s 2026 Annual Review recorded a significant increase in anti-LGBTI and anti-trans activity in the European Parliament during the current parliamentary term, including a series of anti-trans events hosted within Parliament, repeated concerns raised by civil society regarding hate speech and misinformation, and increasingly hostile interventions during plenary debates. These debates have included rhetoric portraying minority groups as threats, questioning equality protections, and framing fundamental rights as incompatible with national sovereignty.

At a time of increasing political polarisation across Europe, the signatories argue that democratic institutions have a particular responsibility to uphold standards of respectful debate and protect the dignity and equal rights of all people. They warn that failing to respond consistently to discriminatory conduct risks further legitimising rhetoric that undermines democratic values and emboldens hostility towards communities already facing discrimination.

Katrin Hugendubel, Deputy Director at ILGA-Europe, said: “The words spoken in the European Parliament matter. They shape public debate, signal what is considered acceptable, and influence political culture far beyond the walls of the institution. When discriminatory rhetoric is left unchallenged, it does not stay in the chamber. It contributes to an environment in which hostility towards migrants, LGBTI people and other minorities becomes increasingly normalised. We are calling on President Metsola to demonstrate that the European Parliament will continue to uphold the values of dignity, equality and respect that it exists to defend.”

The letter has been endorsed by a growing coalition of more than 60 European and international civil society organisations working across human rights, democracy, transparency, migration, equality and reproductive rights, with additional organisations continuing to join the initiative.

Read the full letter to President Metsola by clicking the button below.

Signatories

1. ACAT Belgique
2. ACAT Espagne-Catalogne
3. ActionAid International
4. Action by Christians Against Torture-UK
5. Amnesty International
6. Asociación Por Ti Mujer
7. Avocats Sans Frontières Belgium
8. Bi+ Equal
9. CAN Europe
10. Caritas Europa
11. Center for Countering Digital Hate
12. Center for Reproductive Rights
13. CGT Opfra
14. CIDSE
15. CNCD-11.11.
16. COFACE Families Europe
17. CONCORD
18. ELC – Eurocentralasian Lesbian Community
19. End FGM European Network
20. ENSIE, the European Network of Work Integration Social Enterprises
21. ERGO Network
22. Eurodiaconia
23. EuroMed Rights
24. European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN)
25. European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA)
26. EASPD (European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities)
27. EPSU- European Public Service Unions
28. European Coalition for Corporate Justice
29. European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)
30. European Disability Forum (EDF)
31. European Environmental Bureau
32. European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance
33. European Women’s Lobby
34. Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice
35. European Network on Statelessness (ENS)
36. FEANTSA (the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless)
37. FIACAT (Federation Internationale des ACAT)
38. foodwatch International
39. Friends of the Earth Europe
40. HIAS Europe
41. Humanists International
42. IFSW Europe
43. IGLYO
44. ILGA-Europe
45. International Commission of Jurists
46. International Planned Parenthood Federation – European Network (IPPF EN)
47. International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)
48. Jesuit Refugee Service Belgium
49. Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Europe
50. Jesuit Refugee Service Malta
51. La Cimade
52. La Strada International
53. Médecins du Monde International Network
54. Missing Children Europe
55. Move Coalition
56. OII Europe
57. Oxfam
58. Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM)
59. Protection International
60. Quaker Council for European Affairs
61. RED ACOGE
62. Save the Children Europe
63. Social Platform
64. Statewatch
65. Stichting LOS, Netherlands
66. TGEU
67. Transparency International EU
68. Utopia 56
69. VOICE
70. Volonteurope
71. Women Against Violence Europe (WAVE) Network
72. World Organisation against Torture (OMCT