European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib unveiled the Union’s newfangled strategy against racism. On 20 January, she arrived in the Strasbourg press room with a 40-page dossier, a clutch of talking points and a moral mission.
“Racism is not just a question of insults, because integration of racism has been something which is highly insidious, something which has wormed its way in among our people,” Ms Lahbib declared.
The text she unveiled promised “a Europe free from racism where individuals can thrive, fully participate in society and contribute to its stability and prosperity”. By the time the questions ended, the gap between lofty prose and political reality had widened into a chasm.
A prickly turn
Ms Lahbib opened in French to offer a lyrical detour about Arabic loan-words, and insisted that prejudice corrodes both souls and treasure. “Racism doesn’t just hurt people, it weakens our economies,” she said, citing a €13bn annual drag on output. The document, covering 2026-30, vows to enforce existing directives, break down “invisible barriers” in education, work, housing and health, and build partnerships with civil society. As the commissioner put it, “Our laws must work in real life and not just on paper.”
The rhetoric was familiar. Brussels has produced equality action plans, diversity charters and codes of conduct for years. Yet Ms Lahbib infused the effort with moral urgency. “We know how this dark story ends, and we refuse to walk that road again,” she warned, listing anti-Black racism, antigypsyism, antisemitism, anti-Asian racism and anti-Muslim hatred.
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Three paragraphs into the press statement the tone shifted from uplift to admonition. The commissioner announced that the Commission would “take a close look at how the Racial Equality Directive is applied” and float tougher sanctions such as fines and exclusion from public contracts. Artificial-intelligence systems that misprice insurance or flunk face-recognition tests for darker skin tones would face scrutiny. Equality bodies across Europe would gain power to sue.
Defending a shaky pulpit
Then came the journalists. One asked whether European politicians must confront an American discourse in which, as he put it, “the president of the United States [is] mocking people with disabilities”. Ms Lahbib stiffened. “When it comes to the Americans, they do what they want. They can mock, but we are not like this,” she replied. She added a personal genealogy lesson: “They shouldn’t forget that Trump basically is from German descent.”
The same reporter pressed the Commission’s record on diversity—“Brussels so white”—and asked whether institutions that preach inclusion should look more like the continent they regulate. Ms Lahbib conceded the point, promising a staff survey and better outreach. She introduced her spokesperson: “Nabila in front of me, which is my spokesperson, she’s French, but she’s from Algeria.” This prompted a chuckle but also a sense that Brussels had drifted from substance to anecdote.
Competitiveness is coming with diversity and inclusion. — Hadja Lahbib, EU Commissioner for equality
Another journalist wanted evidence that the 2020-25 action plan had wrought progress. Ms Lahbib claimed success in numbers: “Fourteen member states have their own action plan. And this is a first step.” Yet two-thirds of respondents in the latest Eurobarometer still see discrimination as widespread.
A testy exchange
Questions grew testier. Would the new strategy counter America’s crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion? Ms Lahbib demurred: “It is not up to me to comment on their policies.” A reporter cited American pressure on European subsidiaries to roll back DEI goals. The moderator intervened: “We already had two questions out of four on this topic… No US, because we already had two.” When the journalist persisted (“It is on the package”), the moderator relented with visible annoyance. How comfortably it sits with the pledge to “promote fair, inclusive storytelling”, we do not know.
Behind the theatre lies a genuine policy shift. The strategy promises to toughen sanctions for discrimination, assess algorithmic bias and double funding for equality projects to €3.6bn. National equality bodies will receive clearer mandates and more cash. Brussels will also help UNESCO train teachers to “recognise bias, stereotypes, harassment, and hate”. If member states implement even half the measures, bureaucrats, employers and landlords will find new checklists on their desks.
Business lobbies worry about compliance but sense where the political wind blows. The strategy vows to publish best-practice guides on fair hiring and urges firms to sign diversity charters. Ms Lahbib brandished a carrot as well as a stick: “We are losing each year 12.7bn GDP growth… competitiveness is coming with diversity and inclusion.” The Commission’s own staff survey may serve as a pilot for corporate audits.
From sermon to gladiatorial arena
What soured the launch was tone. The press release brims with homilies—“Achieving a Union free from racism… is a joint effort”, “Europe moves forward when we are honest with ourselves”. Yet Ms Lahbib, when challenged, switched from universalist to defensive. She dismissed talk of American influence as “the monster of the Loch Ness”, ehon nobody has ever seen, and shrugged off evidence that firms are indeed scaling back DEI.
Almost half of the people of African descent working in the EU are overqualified for their jobs. — Hadja Lahbib
Asked about the newly appointed coordinator’s mandate, she said that the lady in question was in charge of “raising awareness“ and “playing a leading role“, as well as reporting about the leading role and the raised awareness to the Commission. Without numbers—reductions in hate-crime cases, diversity quotas in public service, or deadlines for equal-access laws—such monitoring is a shady discipline at best.
At other times, Ms Lahbib tried to steer between moralising and pragmatism. “Roma people live around eight years less than the average European,” she said. “Almost half of the people of African descent working in the EU are overqualified for their jobs.” Those are hard facts, not linguistic micro-aggressions.
Moral high ground, slippery slope
The next steps are clear. Member states must update their action plans, collect better data and enforce sanctions. The Commission will publish a mid-term review and a report on algorithmic discrimination in 2026. Beyond that looms politics. Elections this year could deliver more nationalist MEPs sceptical of Brussels’s crusades. If a future Commission faces unsympathetic governments, the strategy’s non-binding sections may wither.
For now Ms Lahbib can claim momentum. “We will do everything to attract people from different backgrounds,” she vowed. But Europe’s anti-racism crusade, like its cyber-security drive or green transition, hinges on turning sweeping narratives into measurable outcomes. Sermons may inspire, but spreadsheets change behaviour.
The launch showed how easily inspiration curdles when guardians of virtue scold their interlocutors. A union of equality will not be built in one press conference, nor maintained by silencing awkward questions. Yet candid debate is itself a weapon against prejudice. Ms Lahbib, who praised French for its borrowings from Arabic and English, might remember her own linguistic metaphor: strength lies in absorbing difference, not swatting it aside.
