EU Anti-Racism Conference 2026: Tackling Systemic Inequality Across Member States

The 2026 EU Anti-Racism Conference brings together policymakers, civil society, and community representatives to advance the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan's implementation.

EU Anti-Racism Conference 2026: Naming the Problem, Finding the Remedy

The 2026 EU Anti-Racism Conference, which took place in Brussels in March as a 'pivotal gathering of key stakeholders' according to EU scheduling documents, brought together representatives from EU institutions, national governments, civil society organisations, research institutions, and affected community groups to assess the implementation of the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan and develop concrete next steps for combating racial and ethnic discrimination across the European Union. The conference is the flagship event in the EU's anti-racism governance calendar and serves both as a stocktaking exercise and as a platform for political commitment from decision-makers at European and national levels.

The EU Anti-Racism Action Plan, published in 2020, established a framework for addressing racism across multiple policy domains including employment, housing, education, health, and criminal justice. Five years into its implementation, the evidence on progress is mixed. Legal frameworks have been strengthened in several member states, equality body capacities have been enhanced, and awareness of racial inequality has increased among both policymakers and the general public. But underlying patterns of discrimination, inequality, and racial violence have proven more resistant to change than the political commitments made at the plan's launch implied.

The conference heard from representatives of communities facing the most acute discrimination — Roma, people of African descent, Muslims, Jews, and others who have documented increased exposure to hate crime, employment discrimination, and institutional bias in recent years. Speakers drew connections between the geopolitical tensions of the current moment — the Iran war, the Ukraine conflict, rising energy costs — and the historical pattern of minority communities being scapegoated when social conditions become difficult. The EU's commitment to anti-racism is tested precisely in these moments of wider stress.