As the European Union enters critical negotiations for the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, the FURI project is coming to an end after revealing widespread non-compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights in EU-funded projects. Launched in Spring 2024, the project aimed to strengthen the capacity of relevant stakeholders at both EU and national levels to raise awareness about the applicability of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in EU funding, to monitor its implementation, and to ensure EU funding complies with the Charter.
Segregated education facilities for Roma students, Iasi (Romania)
The research conducted in FURI has exposed a shocking reality: 63 projects funded by the EU, representing €1.1 billion in investment, were found to breach fundamental rights. The findings reveal a disturbing trend of “investment in segregation”, including:
• Institutionalisation and Segregation: Continued funding for large-scale institutions for children and persons with disabilities, as well as segregated housing and schooling for Roma communities.
• Violations in Migration Contexts: Deprivation of liberty, illegal pushbacks, and the mishandling of personal data within migrant support frameworks.
• Barriers to Essential Services: Systemic exclusion of marginalised groups from mainstream, high-quality public services, effectively denying them the right to housing, education, and justice.
Since the publication of the project’s findings, the consortium has conducted multiple capacity-building and awareness raising activities across the six countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania) in order to raise the awareness of national stakeholders and train legal professionals to undertake actions against fundamental rights violations. By engaging with and training legal experts, civil society organisations, national monitoring bodies, and journalists, the project has built a frontline of fundamental rights defenders capable of identifying and challenging Charter violations in upcoming EU funds.
Institutions for people with disabilities, Lodz (Poland)
On 17 February, Validity, along with the Greek Council for Refugees, Bridge EU, the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL), Awen Amenca, the Policy Centre for Roma and Minorities, Foundation Partner Hungary, Instytut Niezależnego Życia, and the Network of Independent Experts, held the FURI final conference in Brussels. Alongside community representatives, civil society representatives, and officials from key EU institutions, the consortium gathered to discuss robust responses to the fundamental rights violations identified within EU-funded investments.
During the panel on future strategy and sustainability, Validity emphasised the critical necessity of utilising formal legal complaint mechanisms to bring these widespread, often “invisible” issues to light. By litigating these cases, we are not only to seeking justice for individuals, but we expose large scale rights violations experienced by members of marginalised communities, which must be remedied by both the EU and Member States.
Suzanne Doyle Guilloud, Validity’s policy specialist said:
« The FURI project has not only shown how marginalised communities such as persons with disabilities, members of the Roma community, and migrants experience exclusion and discrimination that is unlawfully funded by EU taxpayers’ money, but also the powerful advocacy that can achieve real change when these communities work together. »
FURI Conference in Brussels, 17 February 2026
If you want to discover more about the FURI project – National and EU Research Reports, Guidance – click the link :
EU Funds for Fundamental Rights (101143162- FURI- CERV-2023-CHAR-LITI)
This project is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.