EU foreign policy chief to outline bloc’s new human rights strategy
The Vice President of the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy will today present the EU’s Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024.
The plan is the third published since 2012, when the EU adopted a Strategic Framework on Human Rights and Development to prioritise human rights at home and abroad. In addition to the previous aims of empowering local institutions and civil society, the 2020-2024 Action Plan will highlight the political challenges posed by developing technologies—like artificial intelligence —to human rights and democracy.
The action plan’s focus on emerging technologies is in alignment with a broader EU policy shift towards prioritising significant investment in and regulation of AI. For instance, French President Emmanuel Macron has facilitated a pledge of $5 billion from French insurers and asset managers to nurture the country’s tech startups, and Germany’s 2019 federal budget allocated €500 billion to boost AI strategy.
The 2020-2024 action plan will outline the importance of AI benefiting all Europeans economically and respecting core EU values like the right to privacy. The plan will inform the discussion about emerging technologies as businesses receive funding this year from a €100 million fund run by the European Investment Fund for firms working in AI.
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