(08 May 2015) – The 2014 report on the application of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights was published today by the European Commission.
For the first time, the 2014 report includes a section on the important emerging issue of fundamental rights in the digital sphere. Everyone has the right to protection of their fundamental rights online as well as offline. In particular, this includes the protection of personal data, as guaranteed by Article 8 of the Charter.
The European Union Courts have increasingly referred to the Charter in their decisions during the course of 2014. In 2014, 210 decisions in EU Courts referenced the Charter, compared with 114 in 2013, 97 in 2012, and 43 in 2011.
This is an important step forward to build a more coherent system for the protection of fundamental rights, which guarantees equal levels of protection in all Member States, whenever EU law is being implemented.