Newsroom

The FRA Director delivered a high-level address on AI governance at this year’s Privacy Symposium on 20 April in Venice. In her address, the FRA Director reflected on existing EU regulation of new technologies and its opportunities for the protection of fundamental rights.
FRA spoke about the impact of climate change on children and their rights at an online conference on 29 April on climate rights for children in Europe. FRA stressed the need towards a fundamental rights-compliant European Green Deal that calls for citizens’ active participation, including children, as child participation is also an important part of Integrated Child Protection Systems.
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FRA will take part in two panel discussions at the high-level Rule of Law conference organised by the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU.
On 14 April, FRA spoke at a panel on how to ensure that ICT standards uphold human rights. FRA highlighted some key findings from its recent report on Assessing high-risk AI relating to fundamental rights risks awareness and impact assessments in practice.
FRA visited Frontex operations in Greece from 20 to 24 April in its capacity as the co-chair of the Frontex Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights.
The European Union Agencies Network on Scientific Advice (EU ANSA) has reaffirmed the central role of EU agencies in supporting research and translating scientific knowledge into evidence based policy making, through a joint statement signed by Chief Scientists or highest ranking scientific officers from across the network, including FRA.
A seminar hosted by the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU and FRA on 20 April highlighted that legislative frameworks, while essential, are not sufficient on their own to ensure full equality for LGBTIQ people. Discussions underlined the added value of soft law instruments, in particular national action plans and strategies, in supporting effective and sustained implementation of the EU LGBTIQ Strategy 2026-2030.
At its meeting on 20 April, the Council Working Party on Fundamental Rights, Citizens’ Rights and Free Movement of Persons (FREMP) held an in-depth exchange on how to strengthen human rights impact assessments in EU and national lawmaking. The European Commission, FRA and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) introduced the exchange amongst Member States. 
FRA will join the first international UNIDAS4EU seminar online to present selected results of the EU survey on gender-based violence. The European cooperation project UNIDAS4EU organises the seminar to improve prevention of and support responses to domestic violence based on the UNIDAS intermunicipal model developed in Portugal.
FRA will meet the Austrian Children’s Rights Board on 30 April. The Board’s data and monitoring sub group is developing proposals to strengthen child rights monitoring in Austria.
The Council of Europe’s Committee on New and Emerging Technologies (CDNET) held its inaugural meeting in Strasbourg from 15 to 17 April. FRA is a participant to the committee as part of the EU delegation.
On 16 April, FRA and the Deputy Frontex Fundamental Rights Officer provided an awareness raising workshop to monitoring staff of the NHRIs, Ombuds Institutions and Justice Chancellors of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland and Poland.
Sirpa Rautio
FRA Director joins the Privacy Symposium 2026 opening session delivering a keynote address on AI Governance. The speech takes place on 20 April in Venice. The session covers the practicalities of governing autonomous systems, the challenge of aligning international standards, and how to ensure that AI regulation supports innovation while protecting fundamental public interests.
FRA has launched its annual consultation with civil society organisations about their civic space experiences. The survey is open to all civil society organisations working in an EU Member State at the EU level, as well as in Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia. The deadline has been extended until 17 May.
FRA took part in a meeting of the Fundamental Rights Guidance Board of the European Travel Identification and Authorisation System (ETIAS)on 14 and 15 April in Warsaw.
On 17 April, FRA gave a presentation on interviewer training methods based on the agency’s experiences of implementing large-scale data collection on violence against women. The presentation took place in an expert group meeting on interviewer training in violence against women surveys and modules, organised by the World Health Organization.
On 24 April, FRA will present the key findings and opinions of the report on ‘Violence and rights abuses against women from Ukraine’ during the meeting of the Council Working Party on Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters (COPEN) in Brussels.
Deaths at sea, reports of rights violations at EU borders, harsher return policies and inconsistent rights monitoring; these are some of the fundamental rights issues highlighted in the new migration bulletin from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).
FRA participated in a plenary meeting of the Council of Europe’s Consultation Group on the Children of Ukraine in Strasbourg from 14 to 16 April. Council of Europe member states, the European Commission, the UN Refugee Agency and representatives of civil society attended the meeting.
On 20 April, FRA will contribute to a discussion in the Council Working Party on Fundamental Rights, Citizens’ Rights and Free Movement of Persons (FREMP), dedicated to ‘Strengthening Human Rights Impact Assessments (HRIA) in law making at EU and national level’.