The Management Board of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) held elections at their 8th Meeting that took place in Vienna on 14 and 15 December 2009. The Management Board elected Ilze Brands Kehris (Latvia) as its new Chairperson and re-elected Hannes Tretter (Austria) as Vice-Chairperson. Ilze Brands Kehris: "The decade that started with 9/11 and is now ending with the effects of the economic crisis shows that there is no room for complacency with regard to the respect for human rights within the EU. The FRA's capacity to provide EU institutions and Member States with expertise on fundamental rights, based on analysis of data collected in all 27 Member States, can and should make an important contribution to the formulation of more effective evidence-based policies respectful of fundamental rights within the FRA competences. It is a great privilege to be elected chairperson of the Management Board of the FRA and in this capacity to participate with the excellent FRA team in the further development of the FRA's work, including cooperation with the Council of Europe, IGOs, civil society and other stakeholders."Hannes Tretter: "I am honoured to be re-elected as member of a very strong and competent team. We are facing now - beside various threats like increasing racism or misuse of personal data and lacks of access to justice - a challenging period since the Treaty of Lisbon opens the door for FRA to deal in future also with the sensitive issues of the former third pillar."