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On 6 May, FRA gave a presentation on fundamental rights in return operations during a seminar organised by the Cypriot Commissioner for Administration. The seminar targeted the training of monitors and police escorts involved in forced return operations in Cyprus.
FRA took part in the latest meeting of the Schengen Borders Code Contact Committee that discussed the Screening Regulation as well as in a joint meeting of the Contact Committees for the Asylum Procedure Regulation and the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation.
Most people in the EU consider encryption important for protecting their private online communications, according to new survey findings from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). Many people are also concerned – to varying degrees – that their private communications may be accessed without their knowledge or consent by various actors, including criminals, foreign governments, businesses or law enforcement.
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FRA will speak at a workshop of the Migration Hub of the ALDA – European Association for Local Democracy. FRA will contribute to a panel discussion dedicated to ‘Democracy that Delivers: Empowering Local Actors in Migration Governance and Democratic Participation’.
On 13 May, FRA will give a presentation to the Council’s Social Questions Working Party based on the data and information the Agency has collected regarding online violence against girls.
FRA has just published the Ukrainian version of the handbook on 'Applying the EU’s Fundamental Rights Charter in law and policymaking at national level - Guidance'.
FRA spoke at the European Parliament’s Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee hearing on AI, gender-based violence including sexual images of women and children.
The Latvian Ministry of Culture invited FRA to provide input to the ongoing development of the Latvian Civil Society Strategy. FRA contributed in Riga to a meeting of the joint working group of ministries and civil society tasked with developing the strategy.
FRA presented its report on ‘Violence against persons with disabilities in institutions’ to the Irish Parliament’s Joint Committee on Disability Matters, in a dedicated session on 6 May on freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse for people with disabilities.
FRA made an intervention during the Asylum Working Party on 30 April on monitoring fundamental rights under the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. FRA provided an overview of the state of play concerning the establishment of national independent monitoring mechanisms.
FRA took part in a joint seminar on 5 May under the Western Balkans Fellowship Programme at the Austrian Parliament in cooperation with the European Funds for the Balkans.
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.