Academic Freedom Monitor 2024: overview of de jure academic freedom protection

Academic freedom is widely recognised as a fundamental value of contemporary higher education and research, and is often presented as a prerequisite for well-functioning democratic societies. However, in recent years, major concerns have been expressed by various stakeholders about the state of academic freedom in the European Union. The European Parliament launched an annual EP Academic Freedom Monitor in 2022, to help improve the promotion and protection of academic freedom in the European Union. This report presents one of the two studies conducted in the 2024 edition. This study firstly provides an overview of the constitutional legal provisions of academic freedom across all EU Member States. Secondly, it provides an in-depth analysis of the legal protection of academic freedom in four EU Member Stats. Thirdly, it explores the Union's scope of action on academic freedom protection at EU level. On the basis of both studies, this report proposes EU-level policy options for possible legislative and non-legislative initiatives to support academic freedom in the EU.<br>