EU faces "worrying trend" of poverty as living costs soar FRA report

Rising poverty rates, attacks on democracy, racism and xenophobia, and migration issues will be the main threats to fundamental rights in the European Union in 2024.

According to a recent report by the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), the rising cost of living, especially energy, has pushed 20 per cent of people (one in five people) into poverty, Azertag reports.

In this regard, the Vienna-based agency calls on member states to ensure that measures to reduce poverty and energy costs reach the most disadvantaged groups.

The FRA has identified measures to alleviate social problems in 12 Member States where there are restrictions on income growth and social income is allocated to cases of extreme poverty.

The EU agency also recommends, because of migration pressures, to strengthen search and rescue operations at sea (in 2023, according to the report, more than 4,000 people died trying to reach the EU) and to ensure safer conditions for the treatment of migrants on arrival.

The agency also condemns excessive state interference, especially with regard to the rights to freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression, noting that it is a threat to civic space and this situation, combined with a lack of significant participation in public affairs and misinformation, "undermines democracy in all European countries".

Twenty-seven Member States must also strengthen the protection of civil society, combat all forms of racism and intolerance, which they categorise as a "worrying trend", warning of a rise in anti-Semitism and anti-Islamism.