Announcing the EU’s Anti-Racism Strategy for 2026-2030, European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib faced a barrage of questions from the press: Had the EU watered the proposal down over fears it might worsen the relationship between the EU and the US?
Back in April 2025, the Trump administration torched America’s diversity, equity and inclusion ,or DEI, polices, branding them “woke ideology.” It prompted scores of companies and universities to wind back commitments to anti-discrimination.
“When it comes to the Americans, they do what they want,” insisted Lahbib, the bloc’s commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management, during the press conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “They can mock, but we are not like this. These are our values. This is who we are .When they [Trump supporters] say we are losing our identities, they shouldn’t forget that Trump, basically, is from German descent,” she said.
Anti-racism advocates in Europe say the new EU strategy is significantly watered down but they fear that change is driven by Europe, not by the US.
“We don’t the need US to water down our policy documents,” Julie Pascoet, a policy and advocacy manager at the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), told DW.
“We have a very worrying development in the European Parliament, with the far right becoming very powerful,” said Pascoet. “So if there has been pressure and and watering down [of] the language, it’s more related to pressure within Europe.”
What’s in the strategy?
The new anti-racism strategy is the continuation of an EU policy programme which began in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd in the US and the Black Lives Matter protests which followed.
“We have extremists who are sowing fear and terror,” Lahbib said. “Racism is not just a question of insults, but something insidious which has wormed its way in amongst our people.”
Almost two in three citizens still view racial discrimination as a widespread issue in their countries, according to a recent Eurobarometer report.
The proposal puts forward a plan to review and report on the application and implementation of anti-discrimination rules across all 27 EU member states.
The European Commission will launch an EU-wide campaign on equality to raise awareness and engage citizens about policies.
Lahbib said the EU will also seek to double the budget for anti-discrimination efforts to €3.6 billion ($4.2 billion) in the next EU budget.
The strategy will try to address pressure within the EU to define terms related to racism. A “comprehensive EU study” will be launched to define terms such as “anti-Muslim hatred” and “structural racism.” The EU will also try to find consensus on a definition of antisemitism, which could — potentially controversially — include any criticism of the state of Israel.
The plan also includes proposals to prevent racialized housing exclusion and to address online hate crimes.
But rather than outlining clear sanctions for companies, individuals and institutions which breach anti-discrimination laws, the EU Commission will “present a report aimed at strengthening national sanctions”.
Inbuilt racism in tech and AI
One of the more eye-catching parts of the strategy is the plan to ensure anti-discrimination laws apply to artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
“We have already seen exam software struggle to recognize students with darker skin tones and online car insurance prices changing based on factors closely linked to ethnic origin,” said Lahbib. “Discrimination today is often quieter, more hidden, more vicious, and that’s why we must make sure new technologies do not repeat yesterday’s prejudice.”
The EU’s AI Act has already attempted to address this issue but the new strategy aims to intensify that focus.
Strategy ‘not enough,’ rights groups say
Many rights groups say the new EU strategy won’t force any change.
“On police violence, on the EU’s discriminatory migration policies, on border control and on racial profiling, I really don’t think it will have any impact,” ENAR’s Pascoet told DW. “It’s too vague and too weak on any serious protection of civil society organizations, such as our movement, which is under attack from the far right. We are really worried that it’s really missing the point on the gravity and the violence that people from racial backgrounds are experiencing today in Europe.”
“Unfortunately, the strategy is a product of the current EU political environment. Its lack of ambition and softly-softly approach betray the grim reality faced by many racialized people in Europe,” said Eve Geddie, director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office.
“It’s deeply disappointing that instead of standing up to bullies and delivering a gold-standard anti-racism strategy, the EU has settled for a timid, watered down policy that falls far short of what the moment demands,” Geddie concluded.