Towards Racial Justice: How the EU Can Create Lasting Change for Racialised People

From the Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and global protests against racial injustice have shed light on the deep and widening nature of structural racism in the European Union (EU). The EU’s increased attention and political commitments in response to BLM protests, including the adoption of the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan, are welcome developments after a decade of limited action in the field of racial justice.

This heightened grassroots, political and institutional attention to structural racism in Europe presents an opportunity for the EU to change course and provide a meaningful route toward equality and justice.

However, the actions undertaken will only be effective in achieving racial justice and meaningful progress if they address structural and institutional racism and include racialised communities in such efforts. This requires a significant shift in EU policy, to better reflect the needs and reality of the situation of racialised communities in Europe today.

To achieve this, Equinox proposes a new policy approach to addressing structural racism and inequality in the EU. This report focuses on specific recommendations for change within EU institutions. Equinox will soon release recommendations on the major “racial justice focal points” for EU policy: climate and environmental justice, gender, law enforcement, and migration.

This paper outlines the main institutional changes that need to take place for the EU to implement structural change for racialised communities in the EU.