European Union member states today (25 June) adopted a package of measures intended to ensure that human-rights considerations, including democratic rights, are integrated into every aspect of EU foreign policy.
The package is a response to an obligation introduced by the Lisbon treaty, which stated that “the Union's action on the international scene shall be guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation” but did not set out how those principles – including democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and respect for human dignity – should be pursued.
“This is the first time that anything like this has been done or attempted,” said a senior EU official, who described the centre-piece of the package – a ‘strategic framework on human rights and democracy' – as an attempt to create “a more cohesive framework” for the rights-related initiatives that have developed “organically” over the EU's history.
The package, which comes two and a half years after the Lisbon treaty came into force, also includes an action plan for the next two and a half years, and the creation of the post of EU special representative (EUSR) for human rights.