The Brussels-led Pathologization of Speech
By Frederick Attenborough, European Conservative.
On January 18th, the European Parliament (EP) will vote on a resolution that proposes extending the list of EU-wide crimes to include all forms of ‘hate crime’ and ‘hate speech.’
If, as looks likely, the resolution is passed, the only thing standing in the way of these dubious categories of speech being added to the EU’s list of particularly serious crimes that “have impact beyond national borders” will be a vote in the Council of the European Union.
For so-called ‘Euro-crimes’ of this kind, the EP and the European Commission (EC) have the power to establish minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions, which member states must then integrate into their own legal systems.
The EU’s ability to flout the principle of subsidiarity in such a cavalier fashion is entrenched in Article 83(1) of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which provides for a list of ‘Euro-crimes.’
Although this list is exhaustive, and currently includes just ten “areas of crime”—including terrorism, human trafficking, and the sexual exploitation of women and children—Article 83(1) contains a provision allowing the Council to adopt a decision (subject to the consent of the EP) extending that list.
This process was triggered back in 2020, when EC President Ursula von der Leyen announced, in her State of the Union Address and in the accompanying letter of intent, a new initiative “to extend the list of EU crimes to all forms of hate crime and hate speech—whether because of race, religion, gender or sexuality.”
The change this proposal requires is staggering. Although all member states currently criminalise hate speech on grounds of race, colour, religion, descent, national or ethnic origin, only 20 of them explicitly include sexual orientation in hate speech legislation, while 12 include gender identity and a mere two cover sex characteristics.
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