Proposal for a Council Decision establishing a Multiannual Framework for the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights for 2018-2022

On 15 February 2007, the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 establishing a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. The Agency became operational on 1 March 2007. The objective of the Agency is to provide the relevant institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union and its Member States, when implementing Union law, with assistance and expertise relating to fundamental rights in order to support them when they take measures or formulate courses of action within their respective spheres of competence to fully respect fundamental rights.

The tasks entrusted to the Agency are set-out in Article 4 of the Regulation and relate to the collection, analysis and dissemination of reliable and comparable information and data, to the development of methods and standards to improve comparability, objectivity and reliability of data at European level, and to the formulation of conclusions and opinions on specific thematic topics for the Union institutions and the Member States. The Agency also raises public awareness of fundamental rights and disseminates information about its work.

The Agency carries out its tasks within the scope of Union law. In doing so the Agency refers to fundamental rights as defined in Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union. The Agency is not a legislative or a standard setting body. It is not authorised to deal with the legality of Union acts or with the fulfilment of Member States' obligations under Union law. Its work is instrumental in providing data, assistance and expertise on fundamental rights issues to support evidence-based policy making across the EU, thereby also contributing to the development of a culture of fundamental rights in the EU.

According to Article 5 of the Regulation, the thematic areas of activity of the Agency shall be determined through a five-year Multiannual Framework. The Agency shall carry out its tasks within the thematic areas set out in that Framework. The Multiannual Framework is not a work programme. The Agency's work programmes are adopted each year by its Management Board within the thematic areas determined by the Multiannual Framework and after the Commission has delivered an opinion. Following requests from the European Parliament, the Council or the Commission, the Agency can work outside these thematic areas, provided its financial and human resources so permit.

The objective of this proposal is to establish the Multiannual Framework for the Agency for the years 2018-2022, as required by Article 5 of the Regulation. The current multiannual framework expires at the end of 2017.

EUR-Lex: COM(2016)442: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2016:442:FIN

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