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As EU countries continue rolling out new coronavirus contact-tracing apps, the data protection and privacy risks remain high on the agenda. Amid these developments, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) renew their cooperation agreement today to further strengthen data protection across the EU. Both FRA and EDPS argue that respect for fundamental rights, including privacy and data protection, has to be centre stage to make tracing apps, or any other technology, a success.
The OECD held its annual Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct on 17 June.
On 16 June, FRA contributed to an ARIADNE network webinar on the role of cities in promoting and protecting human rights and how philanthropy can help.
FRA moderated a webinar on 19 June on universities and human rights cities. The Global Campus of Human Rights invited representatives from over 20 universities to take part.
On 12 June, FRA participated in the first project board meeting for the Creating system for quantitative data collection to evaluate the situation of Roma in the Czech Society project.
The European Commission invited FRA to provide fundamental rights input to the 26th meeting of the European Migration Network (EMN) Return Expert Group.
Michael O'Flaherty
FRA’s Director addressed a conference on 18 June 2020 on Fighting discrimination on grounds of religion and ethnicity: vulnerabilities of Muslim communities and the effects of COVID-19 crisis. the vulnerabilities of Muslim communities in the EU. The conference was a joint initiative by the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the European Commission and the European network of Equality bodies, Equinet. Tommaso Chiamparino, European Commission Coordinator on combating anti-Muslim hatred chaired the event.
Five people per day on average died crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe in 2019, estimates the International Organization for Migration. Ahead of World Refugee Day, the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency points to ongoing difficulties facing civil society rescue efforts in the Mediterranean, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As governments discuss using technology to stop the spread of COVID-19, many Europeans are unwilling to share data about themselves with public and private bodies. These findings emerged from a EU Agency’s Fundamental Rights survey, carried out before the pandemic.
In his latest vlog Michael O'Flaherty introduces FRA's survey of 35,000 people on attitudes to human and fundamental rights.
On 18 June, the agency’s National Liaison Officers (NLOs) will meet via video conference for the first time.
On 18 June, FRA will host a coordination meeting of working groups under the EU’s High Level Group on combatting racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance.
FRA’s Director will speak during a conference on 18 June on the vulnerabilities of Muslim communities in the EU.
FRA will join the third meeting of the European Commission’s working group on the implementation of the Council declaration on the fight against antisemitism.
FRA is introducing a series of changes to deepen its cooperation with civil society organisations through its Fundamental Rights Platform (FRP).
On 11 June, FRA contributed to a Red Cross Europe webinar on assisting migrants at borders.
FRA presented practical steps on how to effectively protect children at borders during a Save the Children webinar on 9 June.
On 4 and 8 June, FRA presented the findings of its good practices report on relocating unaccompanied children to Greek and Maltese authorities.
On 9 June, FRA’s Management Board elected a new Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson as the mandates of existing members draw to a close.
Growing intolerance and attacks on people’s fundamental rights continue to erode the considerable progress achieved over the years, finds FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2020. As Europe begins to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic we see a worsening of existing inequalities and threats to societal cohesion.