Racial inequalities in certain European nations cannot be effectively addressed without acknowledging the enduring legacies of colonialism and slavery, according to a report published on Wednesday by a Europe-wide network of anti-racism organizations.

The report, titled "Europe's Original Sin," examined the historical practices of six former colonial powers—Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain—focusing on policies and laws that marginalized racialized groups and their continuing impact. The European Network Against Racism (ENAR), based in Brussels, emphasized that these colonial-era practices and the exploitation of labor and resources significantly fueled the economic growth of these nations while hindering Black communities from accessing wealth.

In the Netherlands, which forcibly transported over half a million Africans across the Atlantic, slavery was a highly profitable business. By 1770, slavery-related activities contributed 5.2% to the country's GDP, the report noted. Portugal, which trafficked nearly 6 million Africans, the highest of any European nation, saw a significant impact from its empire on the economy around the year 1800.

The report highlighted that Europe's entrenched systems of colonization, slavery, and exploitation have left a deep imprint on today's socio-economic conditions. Racial discrimination continues to affect areas such as education, employment, and access to social and financial services. In France, for instance, the poverty rate among people of African descent stands at 39.5%, more than double that of individuals of European descent. Wage gaps, as well as racial discrimination in banking services such as mortgage approvals and financial profiling, persist across Europe.

ENAR's report made several recommendations, including mandatory anti-racism training for banking and financial institutions and those involved in developing social welfare policies. The report emphasized that recognizing the colonial legacy is crucial to creating policies that address these historical injustices. It also underscored the need for reparations for colonialism and slavery, linking current economic inequalities directly to past exploitation. Additionally, the report called for educational reforms to raise awareness about colonial history in school curricula.

The contentious issue of reparations, long debated, has been gaining traction, with some institutions, including the Church of England and certain nations, starting to acknowledge their historical roles.