Newsroom

Black people in the EU face unacceptable difficulties in simply finding somewhere to live or getting a decent job because of their skin colour, according to findings from a major repeat survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. Racist harassment also remains all too common.
Michael O'Flaherty talks about empowering people with disabilities to be full and independent members of the community.
Press Release
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to local inclusion but four key elements can boost the chances of success, finds the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights’ latest report.
Speech
Michael O'Flaherty
Michael O’Flaherty, FRA Director, speaks to European Affairs Ministers about trust in public institutions during the General Affairs Council's annual rule of law dialogue in Brussels on 12 November 2018.
Michael O’Flaherty
Today we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Agreement between the EU and Council of Europe on cooperation of the Council of Europe and our Agency. 10 years on from the Agreement, our collaboration has become a fixture in Europe’s human rights landscape. I am grateful to the Council of Europe for its support, and look forward to continuing our work together to ensure that the rights of everyone in the EU and in Europe are defended and respected. ** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY **
This video blog by FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty is released periodically and will address burning fundamental rights themes.
Almost 25 million children in the EU live in low income households where living conditions are unacceptable and hunger is common. Inadequate education and healthcare threaten their fundamental rights and deprive them of opportunities to escape the poverty cycle, finds the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in its latest report.
Michael O’Flaherty
In our politics, there has been a normalisation of the unacceptable in terms of word and deed. That includes racist and xenophobic words and deeds, which are now as pervasive as they are corrosive to democratic life in the European Union and around the world. Our Agency’s data show worsening conditions across all major areas of our work. ** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY **
Speech
Michael O’Flaherty
The FRA Director delivered a speech to justice ministers from across the EU during the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 11 October in Luxembourg. His speech focused on some of the key challenges for the human rights system in the EU and pointed to possible ways of safeguarding fundamental rights for everybody in the EU. ** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY **
Speech
Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos
We can be sad and we can be angry. But we also need to persevere. We need to keep reminding our governments to acknowledge the impact of anti-Gypsyism that undermines their own considerable investment in Roma inclusion. Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos provides welcome remarks at the 12th Platform meeting on 9 October 2018.
Video
Some views from participants at the Fundamental Rights Forum about how they commit to delivering on fundamental rights in tomorrow’s Europe.
Speech
Michael O’Flaherty
Michael O’Flaherty, Chair of the Forum and FRA Director sums up his impressions of FRA's Fundamental Rights Forum 2018 and presents the Chair’s Statement 2018 on 27 September 2018 in Vienna. *** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY ***
Press Release
Calls to action to counter the pressing human rights threats facing Europe were captured during Vienna’s Fundamental Rights Forum 2018. They emerged from the talents, ideas, and expertise shared by over 700 leading experts from around the world during the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights’ event.
Speech
Michael O’Flaherty
Michael O’Flaherty, Chair of the Forum and FRA Director gives the opening remarks on the first day of the Agency's Fundamental Rights Forum 2018 in Vienna, 25 September 2018. *** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY ***
Event
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The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights will hold its next Fundamental Rights Forum in Vienna from 25 to 27 September 2018.
This video blog by FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty is released periodically and will address burning fundamental rights themes.
Michael O'Flaherty
Today’s threats to human rights know no frontiers. Safeguarding these rights means renewing our commitment to multilateralism and working together to ensure all people can live in dignity and security. FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty gives a keynote speech at the conference in Warsaw, 7 September 2018.
Speech
Michael O'Flaherty
The FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty provides comments at the Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI) conference in Edinburgh, 7 September 2018.
Workplace inspections are often lacking or ineffective, enabling unscrupulous employers to exploit their workers, finds the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights’ latest report. Tightening up inspections to combat abuse and empower workers to report abuse are some ways FRA suggests to help end severe labour exploitation.
FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty focuses on ways to push back against challenges to our human rights system.