From Strasbourg to Luxembourg: Launching SURE to Close the Human Rights Implementation Gap

On 2 and 3 February 2026, the Netherlands Helsinki Committee hosted the kick-off meeting of the Standing Up for Rights in Europe (SURE) project. The meeting brought together a consortium of five organisations to address a persistent and systemic challenge: the gap between judgments of Europe’s human rights courts and their effective implementation at national level.

Despite important rulings from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), many judgments remain only partially implemented or face significant delays at the national level. This implementation gap undermines the effective protection of fundamental rights, weakens institutional trust, and poses risks to the rule of law across Europe.

Over the course of two days, the consortium, led by the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, examined how the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the implementation of ECtHR judgments interact in practice. Participants identified strategic entry points for civil society and legal actors and agreed on the project’s core priorities and next steps.

What is SURE?

SURE is an EU-funded project led by the Netherlands Helsinki Committee and implemented by a diverse consortium of European organisations from the Netherlands, Spain, Croatia, Italy, and France: Netherlands Helsinki Committee, Gentium, Human Rights House Zagreb, COSPE, and European Implementation Network.

The project aims to strengthen civil society’s capacity to monitor, report on, and advocate for the effective implementation of judgments delivered by European courts. At the same time, it seeks to promote the consistent application of both EU and Council of Europe human rights standards at national level. Learn more about the SURE project here.

Bridging Strasbourg and Luxembourg

The first day of the kick-off focused on developing a shared understanding of the relationship between the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) system and the EU legal order. These discussions directly informed the development of one of the project’s key outputs: a digital toolkit to support civil society in using the EU Charter and in monitoring the implementation of European court judgments.

The ECHR system provides relatively clear procedural pathways for litigation and allows third-party interventions and civil society engagement. However, the supervision of execution of ECtHR judgments, overseen by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, often depends on sustained advocacy and political follow-up, which can be difficult to maintain without significant resources.

By contrast, the CJEU operates within the EU legal order and offers potentially stronger enforcement mechanisms, including infringement proceedings and the binding nature of preliminary rulings. However, access to the CJEU is structurally more complex. It requires:

• A clear connection to EU law

• The use of Charter-based arguments within the scope of EU law

• Often a preliminary reference from a domestic court under Article 267 TFEU

Across participating countries, implementation was identified as the least transparent and most under-supported phase — particularly regarding CJEU judgments. While ECtHR litigation pathways are generally better understood, the strategic use of CJEU judgments for follow-up advocacy and monitoring remains underdeveloped.

Practitioners face both knowledge and capacity gaps: limited familiarity with the domestic application of the Charter, uncertainty about post-judgment strategies, and insufficient resources for sustained engagement.

Participants agreed that SURE must therefore go beyond explaining litigation routes. The project should focus explicitly on implementation and post-judgment strategies, clarifying both the strengths and structural limits of each system, and providing practical tools tailored to practitioners and civil society advocating for the protection of human rights.

Strategic Avenues for Civil Society and Lawyers

Discussions also explored the practical avenues for civil society and legal actors once a judgment has been delivered. These include

• Charter-based litigation at the national level

• Preliminary references to the CJEU

• Rule 9 submissions to the Committee of Ministers in the ECtHR system

• National-level advocacy and monitoring efforts

In the rule of law context, litigation before the CJEU has so far relied predominantly on Article 19 TEU rather than directly on Charter provisions. As a result, Charter-based jurisprudence in systemic rule of law cases remains relatively limited.

At the same time, recent EU legislative developments — including the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), the Digital Services Act (DSA), the AI Act and the Anti-SLAPPs directive — create new opportunities for Charter-based arguments within the scope of EU law. However, persistent implementation challenges at the national level continue to limit the transformative potential of these instruments.

While direct judicial dialogue between the ECtHR and the CJEU remains limited, coordinated or parallel strategies across both systems may, in certain contexts, amplify pressure and visibility. Beyond litigation, civil society engagement with the EU Rule of Law Report process was identified as a particularly important avenue for raising implementation concerns at the EU level. However, such engagement requires sustained effort, credible evidence, and adequate resources.

From Theory to Practice

The delivery of a judgment does not mark the end of the process; in many cases, it is the beginning of a complex implementation phase. Obstacles to effective implementation include limited domestic expertise, fragmented advocacy efforts, insufficient political will, and lack of structured follow-up.

For this reason, SURE will prioritise the development of a practical toolkit. Rather than offering abstract doctrinal analysis, the toolkit will:

• Provide guidance on monitoring and advocacy strategies

• Explain when and how to use Charter-based arguments

• Include illustrative case examples from different national contexts

• Analyse why certain implementation strategies succeed while others fail

The objective is to support civil society in making informed strategic choices and in linking European legal standards to concrete national outcomes.

Why This Matters for Civil Society

Persistent implementation gaps weaken the effective protection of fundamental rights in practice and the credibility of European legal systems. Civil society actors often lack clear guidance on which legal avenues to pursue and how to sustain post-judgment advocacy.

At the same time, evolving EU legislation in areas such as digital regulation, media freedom, and anti-SLAPP protections provides new entry points for Charter-based human rights arguments. Without practical guidance, however, these opportunities risk remaining underutilised.

SURE responds to this gap by strengthening the connection between legal standards and their implementation in practice.

What Comes Next

The consortium, with the European Implementation Network leading on toolkit development, will now focus on drafting the digital toolkit for CSOs, lawyers, and legal advocates. The toolkit will combine original analysis with selected high-quality existing resources and will emphasise clarity, usability, and strategic relevance.

Further project activities will include national capacity-building trainings, cross-country exchanges, and advocacy efforts at both national and EU levels.

Recognising the increasing pressures facing civil society, including shrinking civic space, funding constraints, and complex political environments, SURE aims to provide timely, structured, and strategic support.

A Strong Start for SURE

The two-day kick-off meeting marked a significant first step. It enabled the consortium to align on a common vision, clarify priorities, and agree on a practical roadmap. Since returning home, partners have begun translating these discussions into concrete steps toward developing the toolkit and advancing implementation-focused capacity building and advocacy.

Follow the SURE project on the Netherlands Helsinki Committee website and social media channels for updates, tools, and opportunities to engage.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.