MPG and Europe’s Equality Experts Gather in Brussels: Highlights from the 2025 Legal Seminar

Internal meeting of the European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination –  27 November 2025

The internal meeting gathered all the non-discrimination experts and the senior ground experts together in order to discuss the latest developments on the national level, to prepare for the 2026 publications and to hear from the Commission about the LGBTIQ+ newly adopted strategy and the recent Study on sanctions for discrimination on racial/ethnic/religious grounds. In the afternoon, the two strands of the Network met together with the European Commission for the book presentation of ‘The rights of Roma in European courts’ by the authors and of the recent progress report of the State Commission on Discrimination and Racism regarding equality duty in the public sector in the Netherlands.

Annual Legal Seminar  –  28 November 2025

As every year, this year’s edition of the Annual Legal Seminar brought together all the Network experts and stakeholders from across Europe adding five more countries in 2025 (the EU member states and Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UK), to reflect on the state of equality and non-discrimination law at a moment of growing political and societal pressure.

As in previous years, the Seminar served as an important forum for dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and collaborative problem-solving among those working to advance equality in Europe.

A Diverse and Engaged Community of Participants

The Seminar gathered around 200 participants, including:

• Network experts from across the EU and beyond,
• Representatives of the European Commission,
• Officials from Member State governments and national equality bodies, and
• Experts from selected EU-level NGOs and other interested organisations.

The diversity of professional backgrounds enriched the discussions and highlighted the value of cross-sector cooperation in tackling current challenges.

Key Themes and Discussions

MPG’s Director Isabelle Chopin opened the event and introduced the presentations and discussions. The event then started with a presentation from Director for Equality and Non-Discrimination in Directorate General Justice and Consumers, Ana Carla Pereira, on the focus and latest strategies from the Commission in its work to reinforce gender equality and the fight against discrimination, including notably the new LGBTIQ+ strategy, AI, the enforcement of the Equality Bodies new standards directives, the geopolitical challenges and the rule of law being questioned, disability issues, the latest gender equality directives and their implementation and the Commission’s renewed commitment regarding the long-time pending so called ‘Horizontal Directive’ (Equal Treatment Directive).

The keynote address by Professor Catherine Barnard, ‘Reshaping discrimination law for the modern age?’ explored innovative ways to modernise discrimination law, with a particular focus on the employment context.

The workshop sessions included presentations of the forthcoming thematic reports as well as lively discussions on a wide range of issues, including:

• Update on European case-law
• The role of NGOs and trade unions in supporting the enforcement of anti-discrimination law,
• Recent CJEU case law on LGBTIQ rights,
• Instructions to discriminate,
• Gender equality and access to healthcare in the EU
• Intersectional discrimination and the EU pay transparency directive

These exchanges reflected both the complexity of the current legal landscape and the creativity of practitioners seeking to navigate it.

Conclusions and Reflections

A clear message emerged across the sessions: the need to counter the growing backlash against human rights and equality policies, challenges in access to justice for victims and the reinforcement of the structures that protect them. Participants underscored the essential role played by the Network in this context, particularly in providing expert analysis, fostering collaboration, and supporting effective enforcement at national and EU levels.

The Seminar once again demonstrated the strength that comes from bringing together a multiplicity of voices – academic, institutional, legal, and civil society – each contributing unique insight to shared challenges.

Why This Seminar Matters for MPG

For MPG, the Legal Seminar remains an invaluable annual opportunity to present the work of the Network and the forthcoming publications, and to engage directly with colleagues and partners across Europe who work on similar issues from different angles. It provides space to exchange good practices, identify potential areas for future collaboration, and gain a clearer understanding of the evolving challenges facing equality and non-discrimination law.

This year’s discussions were particularly timely, offering MPG both strategic insight and renewed motivation to continue promoting evidence-based policies that advance equality for all.

Learn more about the European Network of Legal Experts on Gender Equality and Non-discrimination.