Far-right prejudice now ‘normalised’ across Europe, warns EU anti-racism chief  – EUobserver

Racism across Europe is not only about speeches by extremists or headline-grabbing scandals — but also what is repeated and normalised in political discourse and down into everyday life, warns Michaela Moua, the European Commission’s anti-racism coordinator. 

For nearly five years, Moua, a Finnish former professional basketball player, has served as a commission official fighting racism.

Her job, created under the 2020 anti-racism action plan and in the wake of the global Black Lives Matter movement, is not only to influence policy but also to raise awareness — and report annually on progress and on where Europe is falling short. 

And the data, she warns, is moving in the wrong direction. 

“I do think that we’re currently living in a time where far-right sentiments have been normalised to a large extent,” Moua says. 

“Part of far-right sentiments is very much this ‘us-and-them’ polarisation, and historically certain communities have been easier to [target than] others, because they look different,” she explains. 

Racialised communities, migrants, LGBTQI+ people, Roma, and religious minorities become clear targets. 

“It’s oftentimes already vulnerable groups … that are used as the scapegoat, be it high unemployment rates, recession or whatever,” she said, arguing that while these voices have always been there, they’re now becoming “louder” and amplified by social media and the spread of disinformation. 

When asked about the racist AI-generated video posted by US president Trump mocking former US president Obama and his wife, which he then deleted, Moua didn’t comment directly but pointed out instead the danger of any kind of caricatures with racial context.

“It’s not something that has come out of the blue,” she said. Racism is rooted in history, and according to Moua, we should not repeat the mistakes of the past. 

“Independent of what’s happening in the US, we’re seeing the normalisation of hatred and racism, and that is extremely worrying, as it can lead to violence and even death. We have already seen that,” she said. 

She argued that when politicians and decision-makers say things that once seemed unthinkable, the impact does not simply fade away. Words have consequences in real people’s lives. “There is a responsibility that should be understood,” she said.

‘You can’t be, what you can’t see’

Asked whether representatives in the European Commission and other EU institutions reflect the diversity of the continent, Moua first refers to the EU’s own motto: “United in diversity.” 

But then she admitted that the challenge of translating that principle into representation and institutions remains. 

“There’s a quote which goes something like, ‘You can’t be what you can’t see’,” she said. 

“I am a Black European woman,” she repeats twice, emphasising the wording.

Born of a Finnish mother and an Ivorian father, Moua admitted: “I don’t see necessarily people that look like me so often across the table in institutions”. 

For Moua, visibility is part of what signals possibility.

She describes the appointment of the Belgian commissioner Hadja Lahbib from a racialised minority background (child of Algerian immigrants in Belgium) shows especially to youth “anybody can be in this position, and it is inspiring.”

António Costa, president of the European Council, as the son of Goan immigrants to Portugal, similarly reflects that diverse backgrounds can reach the top — but one can argue that such cases remain the exception, not the rule. 

The commission has introduced measures, including outreach campaigns, to increase diversity, including among applicants for the Blue Book traineeships. According to Moua, this has improved the situation. 

There have also been internal surveys to map the diversity of the institution. 

But there are no racial diversity targets comparable to those introduced for gender balance in management roles. 

“There’s not just one thing that can be done to fix the issue… It’s a process.” 

After nearly five years in the commission, she is careful not to claim that the institution is free from racism. 

“This is an institution of some 30,000 employees… and institutions mirror society,” she admits. 

According to a survey carried out by the commission in 2021, around seven percent of respondents working in the commission considered themselves to be from an ethnic-minority background.

Underreporting

Europe is today more diverse than ever. A primary school in a city like Berlin or Brussels might have children whose families come from Syria, Poland, Morocco, Turkey, DR Congo and Portugal. 

But recent reports from the EU agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) show rising levels of discrimination against Black and Muslim communities, with one-in-two Muslims and high numbers of Black people facing daily discrimination. 

“Data in itself already shows us that, unfortunately, racial discrimination and racial hatred have increased in the past years,” Moua says, while noting that people’s rights awareness has also increased. 

But the numbers tell only part of the story. Underreporting remains widespread in Europe. 

“Even if we have data now highlighting that racism and discrimination are increasing, we still know that we have an issue of underreporting.” 

That means that the numbers reported are probably lower than they actually are. The reasons vary. People can be discouraged from reporting racism because they don’t trust the institutions or authorities, but often discrimination can become routine, explains Moua. 

“It just becomes permanent… normalised in a person’s life,” she says. 

Commission ‘can’t do this alone’

The European Commission has adopted two anti-racism strategies to tackle discrimination, one in 2020 and one in 2026.

But critics argue that such strategies fail to tackle structural racism, ignoring police violence and racial profiling or binding measures. 

The reality is that these action plans are non-legislative proposals the commission puts forward to guide national action plans, but cannot mandate changes in education, policing, health or labour policy — areas of exclusive national competence under EU treaties, where the European Commission has limited enforcement power. 

“When you are the face of a file… then also the good and the bad come to you,” Moua said. 

“There are always more expectations,” she admits, while arguing that “from a perspective of the times we’re living in… with democratic backsliding, with the trampling on fundamental rights” having such a strategy on the table is “a very positive thing” and a “sign” from the commission. 

But she is clear that the real test is still to come: “I think the strength of the strategy will be in its implementation and strengthening partnerships at all levels. This is crucial, because the commission can’t do this alone”.

One of the most contested concepts in EU debates is structural racism.

For Moua, it refers to patterns in key sectors, such as housing, employment, healthcare, and education, where racialised communities are disproportionately disadvantaged. Structural racism, she says, is “often… a hidden, invisible phenomenon,” but one that data shows “actually exists.” 

The cumulative impact of #structuralracism on racialized people is overwhelmingly negative. Over a person’s lifecycle from early childhood through adulthood, individuals from racialized communities may encounter disadvantages that compound over time. pic.twitter.com/4aDV8xN8gN

— Michaela Moua (@EUAntiRacism) January 14, 2025

As part of the new strategy, the commission will work with member states to draft a common working definition.

The goal is not to impose anything, she said, but to build shared understanding.

“There’s still a lot to do. I like to think of our work achieved until this point like a five-year-old … it’s learning to walk and talk, but now we need to strengthen it and ensure political commitment and that awareness raising continues”.