News Item

Applying EU equality indicators in practice: insights from Utrecht workshop

From 8–10 June, FRA brought together equality bodies, the European Commission and Equinet in Utrecht to support the implementation of the new EU standards on equality bodies, in particular Articles 16–18 on data, reporting and monitoring.

The workshop was structured in three steps: Day 1 focused on classification, helping participants determine what falls under the EU equality-law mandate; Day 2 focused on reporting, applying the common indicators and exploring approximation methods where direct disaggregation is not possible; and Day 3, organised by Equinet, addressed equality data ecosystems and the practical implementation of Article 16, with FRA contributing expert input. 

Discussions confirmed the value of a shared approach linking classification, reporting and data access, and highlighted the role of a human rights-based framework in connecting data to outcomes for rights holders and to accountability of duty bearers. 

The workshop also generated practical approaches for reporting on complaints, resources and activities, which will inform FRA’s ongoing support and future guidance for equality bodies.