Criminalisation of hate speech and hate crime in selected EU countries

Written by Beatrix Immenkamp.

Hate speech and hate crime can destroy lives, harm people and property, threaten individual rights, terrify communities, reduce trust between members of society, create and amplify tensions between social groups, disturb public peace and order, and endanger peaceful coexistence. Hate speech distorts public debate and, at its worst, leads to an abuse of rights that endangers the rule of law.

Hate speech and hate crime are incompatible with the EU’s common values and fundamental rights, as enshrined in EU Treaties and in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. EU law currently criminalises hate speech and hate crime, but only if it is related to a limited set of characteristics, namely race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin. The European Commission, with the support of the European Parliament, would like to widen the scope of the prohibition to include other protected characteristics, such as gender, sexual orientation, age and disability.

In December 2021, the Commission proposed to the Council and the Parliament to extend the list of EU crimes under Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to hate speech and hate crime. With this initiative, the Commission hopes to address Member States’ divergent and fragmented approaches to hate speech and hate crime and to guarantee consistent protection of victims across the EU.

In this context, it is important to understand how Member States currently criminalise hate speech and hate crime. This briefing therefore provides an overview of relevant legal provisions in selected EU countries. There are significant differences between Member States, strengthening the argument in favour of harmonising legislation across the EU.

This briefing is to be read in conjunction with the briefing ‘Hate speech and hate crime: Time to act?‘, published in September 2024.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Criminalisation of hate speech and hate crime in selected EU countries‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.