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On 12 and 13 March, FRA hosted its regular meeting with its National Liaison Officers (NLOs). They are the main contact points for the Agency in Member States and in countries that participate as observers in the work of FRA.
FRA will contribute to a course organised by the European Institute of Public Administration for the Slovenian Managing Authority, and its Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development.
FRA, together with the European Commission and ProtectDefenders.eu delivered online training for EU Delegations and consular staff in Member State embassies on the issue of visa for human rights defenders at risk.
On 11 and 12 March, FRA provided training on fundamental rights in connection with the use of biometrics. The training took place during an event organised by Frontex on vulnerabilities in automated border crossings at Milan airport.
FRA will speak on its work on EU funds and fundamental rights at a meeting of the ECHOFunds project. The meeting will cover how to implement the fundamental rights enabling condition on EU funds in Austria.
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FRA will take part in a CRPD Committee review meeting from 10 to 12 March in Geneva of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). FRA is a member of the EU’s CRPD Monitoring Framework.
As human rights and democracy come under increasing pressure worldwide, the discussions at the latest Fundamental Rights Forum remain as relevant as ever. On 11-12 March 2024, the Forum gathered diverse voices to tackle some of the most pressing human rights challenges of our time. The Forum’s videos on FRA’s YouTube channel offer insights into issues, such as democratic resilience, freedom of expression, and challenges to the rule of law - all critical in today's shifting political landscape.
Eurostat, FRA and EIGE will deliver a joint presentation to the Council of Europe on the results of the EU Gender-Based Violence survey.
Sirpa Rautio
The FRA Director, Sirpa Rautio, addressed the EU's Justice and Home Affairs Council on 7 March 2025 in Brussels. She delivered a speech on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights with a particular focus on funding to promote, protect and enforce fundamental rights.
On 7 March, FRA spoke at a national event on setting up the National Human Rights Institution in Italy. The discussion focused on challenges and perspectives of setting up NHRI in Italy.
FRA took part in a workshop in Bucharest 27 and 28 February on enhancing Romania’s child protection system. FRA presented different models of guardianship in EU Member States based on its research and its handbook, and the new elements strengthening guardianship in the Pact on Migration and Asylum.
On 25 February, the Advisory Board of the Independent Border Monitoring Mechanism of Croatia met in Zagreb. They discussed the monitoring mechanism’s latest report covering activities in 2023 and early 2024 and monitoring plans for 2025.
FRA’s Executive Board meeting took place online on 4 March. The Board was updated on most recent FRA’s work.
FRA and EIGE will give a presentation on the EU Gender-Based Violence survey results to the Luxembourg Ministry of Gender Equality and Diversity. The coordination committee that deals with measures to combat violence against women and domestic violence will also attend.
Members of the Roma survey Technical Working Group for Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia as well as survey implementing agencies will meet online on 5 March. . The members are the UN Development Programme, the World Bank and FRA.
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Eurostat working group on crime and criminal justice statistics will meet to discuss their data needs. They will collect input from various other European Commission Directorates-General.
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The European Commission and the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union will host a High-Level Forum on the Future of EU Criminal Justice.
FRA invites views from all civic society organisations working in an EU Member State or in Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia or at the EU level for its annual civic space consultation.
On 5 February, FRA took part in a seminar in Helsinki organised by the Council of Europe and the Finnish Non-discrimination Ombudsman. The event was part of a EU-Council of Europe funded technical support project on upholding equality and non-discrimination by equality bodies regarding the use of artificial intelligence in public administrations.
FRA and the UN Refugee Agency chaired the Frontex Consultative Forum meeting last week from 18 to 19 February in Warsaw.