London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

European Parliament adopts resolution on Hong Kong press freedom

European Parliament adopts resolution on Hong Kong press freedom

The resolution urged the EU to do more to help Hongkongers affected by the law, including journalists and pro-democracy camp politicians and activists, to settle in the bloc.

The European Parliament has adopted a broad new resolution on Hong Kong, advocating tough measures be taken over the government’s crackdown on the city’s press freedom.

The 28-point resolution passed with broad support in the plenary session in Strasbourg on Thursday, with 578 members of Parliament voting to adopt it and 29 voting against it; 73 abstained.

The vote followed a debate in which a procession of MEPs took aim at Beijing’s tightening of the screw in Hong Kong, particularly in response to the closure of the Apple Daily.

The measures are not binding, but are a set of recommendations to the European Commission and the Council of the European Union based on the prevalent mood in the Parliament, the bloc’s only directly elected major body.

Nor is it at all certain that the European Commission or Council of the European Union will take them on board. Previous calls to action on Hong Kong, including sanctions on top officials, have gone unheeded.

Nonetheless, some MEPs have said that China reneged on its international covenants after breaching the terms of the joint declaration with Britain for the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, and this should be an important factor in any future agreements made between the EU and China.

“China is attacking freedom in Hong Kong, and indeed the Western world in general. It is weakening any relationship we can build with China, including any trade relationship. What about investment with China? Could we have any faith in investments?” said François-Xavier Bellamy, a French member of Parliament in the centre-right European People’s Party.

As reported by the Post on Wednesday, MEPs urged the EU’s organs of power as well as its member states to levy sanctions on leading Hong Kong and mainland Chinese officials involved in the roll out of the national security law in Hong Kong, which they say is “dismantling the city’s freedom”.

They called for both the EU institutions and its 27 member states to decline invitations to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics next year, “unless the Chinese government demonstrates a verifiable improvement” in its human rights record.

Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Brussels, Belgium in June.


However, this seems unlikely to gain unanimous support across the EU. On Wednesday, the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accepted an invitation from Chinese leader Xi Jinping to attend the Games, according to the official readout of a call from Athens.

The resolution urged the EU to do more to help Hongkongers affected by the law, including journalists and pro-democracy camp politicians and activists, to settle in the bloc.

Among the “lifeboat” measures recommended was to increase the number of opportunities within the Erasmus programme for Hong Kong students and graduates, and to issue emergency travel documents for journalists in Hong Kong “who are at risk of arrest under the national security law”.

The Chinese mission to the EU described the resolution as “a blatant violation of basic norms governing international relations and the spirit of rule of law and a gross interference in China’s internal affairs”.

“China firmly opposes the politicisation of sports. Politically-driven attempts to disrupt, obstruct and sabotage the preparation and holding of the Beijing Winter Olympics are extremely irresponsible. It is only athletes and the international Olympic movement that will bear the cost,” a spokesman said.

Addressing the debate on behalf of the European Commission, commissioner for financial stability Mairead McGuinness described the national security law as “draconian” and the closure of Apple Daily as “just the latest step in a severe political deterioration”.

“We will also intensify our response through increasing support to civil society, including those outside Hong Kong and the media, promoting freedom of expression, facilitating mobility, as well as ensuring observation of the trials of pro democracy activists,” McGuinness said. “The EU office, EU member states and other like minded missions are systematically monitoring court proceedings.”

She rejected China’s claims that the EU was “interfering” in its domestic affairs, saying: “What is happening in Hong Kong constitutes a breach of international commitments, in particular of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which was registered with the UN as an international treaty.”

Other tenets of the resolution include condemnation of European banks who have been “complicit” in the imposition of the national security law by “freezing the assets and bank accounts belonging to former pro-democracy lawmakers”. It calls on the EU to evaluate the involvement of these institutions.

Mairead McGuinness, European commissioner for financial stability, in Brussels, Belgium in April.


Amid concerns that the law is being used to remove books from libraries and shops, it calls on the EU to assist “with the archiving, publicising, documenting human rights violations, and to counteract the [People’s Republic of China] by making books banned in Hong Kong widely available online”.

It also recommends the EU to lobby the United Nations for the appointment of a special envoy for Hong Kong, and that July 1 be designated as a “‘Stand with Hong Kong Day’ in order to annually raise the awareness of the European public on the situation of Hong Kong”.

Of those opposing the resolution, two addressed the debate. Thierry Mariani, a former French cabinet minister now aligned with the far-right Identity and Democracy Group, said the EU should “not be dragged into another Cold War” by the United States.

“I am realistic that EU has no influence in Hong Kong. Our nations have no interest in adopting warlike rhetoric against China, as it’s already happening in some statements. We’ve got to open our eyes and seek our way forward, seek Europe’s interests between the adversity reigning between China and the US,” he said.

Spanish communist MEP Manuel Pineda added that the EU should “stop subordinating ourselves to the US and relate to other countries on the basis of cooperation, respect for sovereignty and mutual benefit”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
×