Fundamental rights

Introductory website. Protecting fundamental rights and creating a European area of freedom, security and justice are two intrinsically linked tasks, which are actually two sides of the same coin. Moreover, they are two of the key goals of European integration in the years to come. There are several tools available for enshrining these rights. Perhaps the best known of all is the Charter of Fundamental Rights proclaimed by European Union (EU) leaders in December 2000. It stems from the EU Treaty, European Court of Justice case-law, the European Union Member States' constitutional traditions and the Council of Europe's European Convention on Human Rights.