Milan Uhrík, a Member of the European Parliament from the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group, has submitted a written parliamentary question challenging the legal basis and implications of a new EU network of prosecutors for hate crimes, which Eurojust is set to support. Uhrík argues that the initiative risks equating non-criminal speech with terrorism and enabling censorship of patriotic views.
The question, dated 3 July 2026, refers to Eurojust's Annual Report 2025, which notes that in December 2025 the European Commission established a network of prosecutors for hate crimes, alongside a parallel law enforcement network, with Eurojust providing support. Uhrík asks three specific questions: first, what legal basis under the Eurojust Regulation allows action against non-criminal speech protected by freedom of expression, and what are the organisational and financial structures of the new prosecutors' network and the EU High Level Group on combating hate speech and hate crime; second, what legal basis allows the Commission to intervene in the work of independent national prosecutors and set up a parallel law enforcement network, and how Eurojust staff can participate in these networks and exchange information with NGOs given professional secrecy rules; third, why non-criminal speech is subject to counter-terrorism measures, equating it with real Islamic terrorism, and whether Eurojust is involved in the online hate speech monitoring network enforcing citizen censorship.
The question contains concrete demands for legal justification and details on funding and structure, reflecting a concern over EU overreach into national prosecutorial independence and freedom of expression. Uhrík's framing suggests a cleavage between security measures against hate speech and protection of political speech, with potential impacts on national prosecutors' autonomy, Eurojust's operational scope, civil society organisations involved in the network, and EU citizens holding patriotic views. The European Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks, and its answer will signal the legal and policy direction of the hate speech prosecutors' network.