Equality

Equality, non-discrimination and racism

Equality is a core value of the EU. You have the right to fair treatment regardless of who you are, what you believe, or how you chose to live.

We carry out research and share expertise to help fight discrimination, inequality and racism in all its forms.

Highlights

Products
FRA’s 2021 survey on Roma in Croatia, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Serbia and Spain collected information from 8,461 respondents living in private households who self-identify as Roma, are 16 or older and have lived in the survey countries for at least the 12 months before the survey.
20
March
2023
This guide helps independent national monitoring frameworks to fulfil their monitoring responsibility set out in Article 33 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It focuses on the use of indicators. It does not deal with aspects such as compliance with the Paris Principles or the efficiency of complaints mechanisms. Its objective is to support national monitoring frameworks in designing or improving indicators for assessing progress of CRPD implementation at national level.
27
February
2023
FRA’s 2021 survey on Roma was conducted in Croatia, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Spain, as well as in North Macedonia and Serbia. It includes interviews with more than 8,400 Roma, collecting information on more than 20,000 individuals living in their households. This technical report provides a detailed overview of the survey methodology used by FRA when collecting the survey data.
8
December
2022
Artificial intelligence is everywhere and affects everyone – from deciding what content people see on their social media feeds to determining who will receive state benefits. AI technologies are typically based on algorithms that make predictions to support or even fully automate decision-making.
11
November
2022
Europe stands at a delicate moment in its history. It is a moment of existential significance for the wellbeing and sustainability of our societies. It is emerging from the pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease, only to face a set of major overlapping challenges. These pose profound questions about the political, economic and societal future of the continent. To discuss elements of a human rights vision for the future and to identify opportunities for action, FRA brought together a group of sixty human rights leaders and experts with diverse backgrounds
from across the continent. This report distils the meeting discussions, including analysis and ideas, and concludes with proposals for action. It does not represent the views either of individual participants or of FRA.
3
November
2022
Antisemitic incidents and hate crimes violate fundamental rights, especially the right to human dignity, the right to equality of treatment and the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This report provides an overview of available data on antisemitism as recorded by official and unofficial sources in the EU Member States and in Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia. The data provided by the countries are supplemented with information from international organisations.
25
October
2022
02 November 2022
This report presents findings from FRA’s 2021 survey on Roma in Croatia, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Spain, as well as in North Macedonia and Serbia. The survey includes interviews with more than 8,400 Roma, collecting information on more than 20,000 individuals living in their households. By focusing on Roma, the survey provides unique data and information that are not available from European general population surveys, which do not disaggregate on grounds of ethnic origin. The findings present a bleak but familiar picture of exclusion, deprivation, discrimination and racism.
Young? Passionate about human rights? Having the right data can make a world of difference for your campaigning.
16
September
2022
Europe stands at a delicate moment in its history, facing a convergence of major tests. Each of them taken on their own is significant. Together, they pose profound questions about the political, economic, and societal future of the continent. This is a moment for strong commitment to put human rights at the heart of our vision for Europe’s future. It is also time to demonstrate our determination to work together to this end. Against this backdrop, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) brought together around sixty human rights leaders and experts from across the continent to discuss elements of a human rights vision for the future and to identify opportunities for action. A full conference report will be available soon, including the specific ideas and proposals which arose from the meeting. Meanwhile, this is a summary of the conclusions.
On 7 May 2022, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) organised the fourth Fundamental Rights Dialogue – a live debate that gives young people an opportunity to voice their fundamental rights concerns and to discuss ways to solve them.
In this vlog, FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty, points to the need to recommit to human rights, as evidenced by the wide-ranging impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Here he refers to vaccine inequalities and the impact on marginalised communities, disadvantaged children and frontline workers. As he explains in this vlog, human rights can help fix and strengthen society so we are ready for the next pandemic.
8
June
2022
FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2022 reviews major developments in the field in 2021, identifying both achievements and areas of concern. It also presents FRA’s opinions on these developments, including a synopsis of the evidence supporting these opinions.
8
June
2022
This focus looks at the impact of the pandemic on social rights. It examines the measures in national recovery and resilience plans that address the social vulnerabilities among a variety of population groups in the EU, including women, children and young people in situations of vulnerability, people with disabilities, older people, Roma and people in precarious working conditions.
8
June
2022
All language versions now available
14 September 2022
The year 2021 brought both progress and setbacks in terms of fundamental rights protection. FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2022 reviews major developments in the field, identifying both achievements and remaining areas of concern. This publication presents FRA’s opinions on the main developments in the thematic areas covered, and a synopsis of the evidence supporting these opinions.
In this vlog, FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty talks about the importance of celebrating diversity in our societies. He calls on everyone to build bridges and listen to each other, so we can create a society where everyone is equal in dignity and in rights.
The Fundamental Rights Survey is the first survey to collect comprehensive and comparable data on people’s experiences and views of their rights in the EU-27. The survey included questions related to rights in a number of different areas, including crime victimisation and safety, data protection and privacy, functioning of the democracy, views on human rights and experiences with public services.
7
April
2022
Printed copies now available for order
13 April 2022
Children are full-fledged holders of rights. They are beneficiaries of all human and fundamental rights and subjects of special regulations, given their specific characteristics. This handbook aims to illustrate how European law and case law accommodate the specific interests and needs of children. It also considers the importance of parents and guardians or other legal representatives and makes reference, where appropriate, to situations in which rights and responsibilities are most prominently vested in children’s carers. It is a point of reference on both European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (CoE) law related to these subjects, explaining how each issue is regulated under EU law, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, as well as under the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter and other CoE instruments.
In this vlog, FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty highlights the need to work together to tackle hate and discrimination in our societies.
FRA’s 2019 survey on Roma and Travellers in Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom interviewed almost 4 700 Roma and Travellers, collecting information on more than 8 200 individuals living in their households.
If we are serious about protecting fundamental rights, we need to start listening to young people and what they have to tell us. This message came through very strongly at the Fundamental Rights Forum 2021. As we kick off the European Year of Youth 2022, let’s look at why listening to young people is key to protecting their rights.
Young? Passionate about human rights? Having the right data can make a world of difference for your campaigning.
On 7 May 2022, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) organised the fourth Fundamental Rights Dialogue – a live debate that gives young people an opportunity to voice their fundamental rights concerns and to discuss ways to solve them.
In this vlog, FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty, points to the need to recommit to human rights, as evidenced by the wide-ranging impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Here he refers to vaccine inequalities and the impact on marginalised communities, disadvantaged children and frontline workers. As he explains in this vlog, human rights can help fix and strengthen society so we are ready for the next pandemic.
In this vlog, FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty talks about the importance of celebrating diversity in our societies. He calls on everyone to build bridges and listen to each other, so we can create a society where everyone is equal in dignity and in rights.
In this vlog, FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty highlights the need to work together to tackle hate and discrimination in our societies.
If we are serious about protecting fundamental rights, we need to start listening to young people and what they have to tell us. This message came through very strongly at the Fundamental Rights Forum 2021. As we kick off the European Year of Youth 2022, let’s look at why listening to young people is key to protecting their rights.
In this vlog, FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty points to the urgent need to work towards a fairer society and asks us all, as we go forward, to work less for people in the struggle for equality, but much more with them.
On 23 February 2021, FRA’s Director, Michael O’Flaherty, listened to fundamental rights concerns and discussed ways to solve them. The second Fundamental Rights Dialogue invited young people to participate in shaping our societies, placing human rights centre stage.
Drawing on the ‘Encouraging hate crime reporting: the role of law enforcement and other authorities' report, in this infographic FRA outlines why reporting is so important and what must change to encourage hate crime reporting.
On 16 June, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights publishes the seventh of its bulletins on the fundamental rights impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In his vlog FRA Director draws attention to fundamental rights issues related to the roll out of the vaccines in the EU 27 Member States.
There are many reasons for the police to stop someone. But prejudice should not be one of them. Find out what FRA is doing to end discriminatory police stops.
There are many reasons why adults may find themselves in a situation of vulnerability - because of their age, health or disability. Vulnerable people are at greater risk of unfair treatment, exploitation or abuse. And cross-border settings can lead to additional obstacles. It's time to address these challenges and identify the needs of vulnerable adults so everyone can enjoy their fundamental rights.
This video statement by FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty was recorded for the online event '2021 Mayors Summit Against Anti-Semitism' which took place on 16 March 2021. The event was hosted by the city of Frankfurt am Main in partnership with the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM).
On 13 November, the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) hosted its first Fundamental Rights Dialogue - a virtual event that gave young people an opportunity to voice their fundamental rights concerns and discussed ways to solve them with FRA's Director Michael O'Flaherty.
This video statement by FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty was recorded for the online event "Union of Equality: achievements and challenges ahead".
Although many steps have been taken in recent years to change LGBTI people’s lives for the better in the EU, there is still a long way to go, notes FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty in this video message to Athens Pride 2020.
In his latest vlog, FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty speaks about the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Roma community. Roma children are in danger of losing almost a whole year of schooling. It’s like losing a generation. It’s robbing children of the one place where they can have hope and dream the same dreams of every other child.
In this video message to the Equality2020 conference on 29 June, FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty speaks about our shared struggle for a Europe that honours everybody in their diversity, in their equality and in their dignity.
In this video message FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty speaks about LGBTI equality on the occasion of the Global Pride 2020:
https://www.globalpride2020.org/
Today, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights launches the second LGBTI survey, mapping the experience of what it is to be LGBTI in the EU.
FRA was a speaker at a panel discussion on critical perspectives for equality data in combating discrimination.
On 11 May, FRA attended a European Commission workshop on fake news, disinformation and hate speech of the Community for European Research and Innovation for Security (CERIS).
We – The Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, and the diplomatic missions of Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, as well as the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), the Delegation of the European Union to the International Organisations, UN-GLOBE, and the Vienna School of International Studies – all welcome May 17th as the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), as a celebration of diversity and inclusion around the world.
On 3 May, FRA presented its ageing in digital societies project to AGE Platform Europe’s Task Force on Age-Friendly Environments.
FRA, together with the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), facilitated a workshop on hate crime recording and data collection.
FRA joined the conference on safeguarding older people’s legal and human rights through active citizenship and inter-generational approach on 24 April in Vienna.
FRA received a visit from Claudia Mahler, the UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older people.
On 12 April, the FRA Director delivered a speech setting the scene for a high-level event on LGBTIQ Equality.
The online data explorer for the FRA Roma Survey 2021 in 10 European countries is now available.
FRA spoke during a debate on the Spanish Ministry of Equality’s proposal to add information on racial or ethnic origin in a nationwide survey.
A new EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) guide supports the collection of data on the rights of people with disabilities across the EU. It shows how to develop and improve indicators to assess the national implementation of the United Nation Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This is key to ensuring people with disabilities can fully enjoy their rights.
On 15 March, FRA met representatives from three organisations dealing with Roma rights across Europe.
FRA gave a presentation on promoting the collection and use of equality data based on racial or ethnic origin during a Eurostat conference.
FRA addressed the Council of the EU’s Fundamental Rights, Citizens Rights and Free Movement of Persons Working Group (FREMP) on 23 February.
The Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union hosted a high-level conference on the implementation of National Action Plans against Racism.
On 8 February, FRA’s Director exchanged views with the Council of Europe’s GREVIO expert group on monitoring the implementation of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
FRA will take part in a webinar that will provide an overview of the state of knowledge on equality and inclusion in the European Parliament elections.
A major survey measuring hate crime and discrimination against Jews across Europe opened on 25 January, led by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).
FRA published 26 new promising practices on racial or ethnic equality data collection.
FRA took part in the first meeting of the advisory board of the EU’s Child Participation Platform on 12 December.
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The Eurostat task force on the EU gender-based violence survey will meet virtually from 1 to 2 June.
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From 1 to 2 June, FRA will take part in a meeting of the Working Group on Equality and Values.
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The municipality of Vienna launches its third round of equality monitoring on 11 May.
FRA and the European Parliament Liaison Office in Vienna are co-organising a panel discussion on combating antisemitism.
FRA will take part in EIGE's gender statistics database expert meeting.
A delegation of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Equality and Non-Discrimination Committee, and member of the ‘No Hate Parliamentary Alliance’, will visit FRA on 8 May.
FRA’s Director will participate in the 18th European Union – African Union Human Rights Dialogue on 4 May in Brussels.
On 27 April, FRA will give an online lecture on the Agency’s work on child rights within the EU context.
FRA will participate in the European Parliament’s anti-racism and diversity week in Brussels.
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The European Commission’s Child Rights Coordinator is convening several meetings to move forward with the implementation of the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child.
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The Eurostat working group on crime and criminal justice statistics will hold its annual meeting.
On 13 March, FRA will welcome the former ambassador of Israel in the EU and Brussels and a delegation of students.
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From 8 to 9 February, FRA will take part virtually in a meeting of the Working Group on Equality and Values in Education and Training.
FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty will give a speech on liberal democracy at the European Parliament’s Article 17 dialogue seminar.
On 13 December, FRA will speak at a webinar on ‘Child-friendly justice: Do words matter’.
On 8 December, FRA will join the European crime prevention award conference in Prague.
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As the European Year of Youth 2022 comes to an end, FRA will attend the year’s final stakeholders and national coordinators meeting and closing conference.
On 6 December, FRA will speak at a round-table event on child-friendly justice and children as victims of crime at the European Parliament.
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FRA will attend the final conference of the CLEAR-RIGHTS project in Brussels from 1 to 2 December.
On 24 November, FRA will give a lecture to a delegation of the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna.