The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (the ‘Agency’) was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 (2) to provide the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and Member States with assistance and expertise relating to fundamental rights.
(2)
In order to adapt the Agency’s scope and to enhance the governance and the efficiency of the Agency’s operation, it is necessary to amend certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 without changing the objective and the tasks of the Agency.
(3)
In view of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the Agency’s scope should also cover police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, areas which are particularly sensitive with regard to fundamental rights.
(4)
The area of common foreign and security policy should be excluded from the Agency’s scope. This should be without prejudice to the Agency’s provision of assistance and expertise, for example training activities on fundamental rights issues, to the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, including to those working in the area of common foreign and security policy.
(5)
Furthermore, some targeted technical amendments of Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 are necessary in order for the Agency to be governed and operated in line with the principles of the Common Approach annexed to the Joint Statement of the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission on decentralised agencies of 19 July 2012 (the ‘Common Approach’). The alignment of Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 with the principles set out in the Common Approach is tailored to the specific work and nature of the Agency and aims to bring simplification, better governance and efficiency gains to the Agency’s operation.
(6)
The definition of the areas of activity of the Agency should be based on the Agency’s programming document alone. The current approach of setting in parallel a broad thematic Multiannual Framework every five years should be discontinued, as it has been made redundant by the programming document that the Agency has adopted annually since 2017, to conform with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1271/2013 (3), succeeded by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 (4). Based on the Union policy agenda and on stakeholders’ needs, the programming document clearly sets out the areas and specific projects on which the Agency is to work. This should enable the Agency to plan its work and thematic focus over time and to adapt it annually to emerging priorities.
(7)
The Agency should submit its draft programming document to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission as well as to the national liaison officers and to the Scientific Committee by 31 January each year. The purpose is for the Agency, while carrying out its tasks in full independence, to draw inspiration from discussions or opinions on such draft programming document in order to design the most relevant work programme to support the Union and the Member States by providing assistance and expertise relating to fundamental rights.
(8)
In order to ensure smooth communication between the Agency and the Member States, the Agency and the national liaison officers should work together in a spirit of mutual and close cooperation. This cooperation should be without prejudice to the Agency’s independence.
(9)
To ensure better governance and functioning of the Agency’s Management Board, a number of provisions in Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 should be amended.
(10)
Given the important role of the Management Board, its members should be independent and have sound knowledge in the fundamental rights area as well as appropriate management experience, including administrative and budgetary skills.
(11)
It should also be clarified that, while Management Board members’ and alternate members’ terms cannot be renewed consecutively, it should be possible to reappoint a former member or alternate member for one more non-consecutive term. If, on the one hand, not allowing consecutive renewals is justified to ensure their independence, on the other hand, allowing a reappointment for one more non-consecutive term would make it easier for Member States to appoint suitable members meeting all the requirements.
(12)
With regard to the replacement of Management Board members or alternate members, it should be clarified that in all cases of termination of the term of office before the expiry of the five-year period, not only in case of loss of independence, but also in other cases such as in case of resignation or death, the new member’s or alternate member’s term will complete his or her predecessor’s five-year term, unless the remaining term is less than two years, in which case a new five-year term may run afresh.
(13)
To align with the situation within the Union institutions, the Agency’s Management Board should be given the powers of the appointing authority. Except for the appointment of the Director, those powers should be delegated to the Director. The Management Board should exercise appointing authority powers regarding staff of the Agency in exceptional circumstances only.
(14)
To avoid stalemates and simplify the voting proceedings for the election of the Executive Board members, it should be provided that the Management Board elects them by a majority of the members of the Management Board with voting rights.
(15)
To further align Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 with the Common Approach and strengthen the Management Board’s capacity to supervise the administrative, operational and budgetary management of the Agency, it is necessary to attribute additional tasks to the Management Board and to further specify the tasks attributed to the Executive Board. The additional tasks of the Management Board should include adopting a security strategy, including rules on the exchange of EU classified information, a communication strategy, and rules for the prevention and management of conflicts of interest in respect of its members and of those of the Scientific Committee. It should be made clear that the Executive Board’s task to supervise the preparatory work for the decisions to be adopted by the Management Board entail scrutinising budgetary and human resources matters. In addition, the Executive Board should be tasked with adopting the anti-fraud strategy prepared by the Director and ensuring adequate follow-up to audit findings and to investigations of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) or of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). Moreover, it should be provided that, where necessary, in case of urgency, the Executive Board may take provisional decisions on behalf of the Management Board.
(16)
In order to simplify the existing procedure of replacing the members of the Scientific Committee, the Management Board should be allowed to appoint the person next in line on the reserve list for the remaining term of office where a member needs to be replaced before the end of his or her term.
(17)
Given the very selective appointment procedure and the fact that the number of candidates potentially meeting the selection criteria is often low, the term of office of the Agency’s Director should be extendable once for up to five years, taking into account in particular his or her performance and the Agency’s duties and requirements in the coming years. Moreover, given the importance of the position and the thorough procedure which involves the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, such procedure should start in the course of the 12 months preceding the end of the Director’s term.
(18)
Furthermore, to enhance the stability of the Director’s mandate and hence that of the Agency’s operation, the majority required to propose his or her dismissal should be raised from the current one third to a two-thirds majority of the members of the Management Board. Finally, to specify the Director’s overall responsibility for the administrative management of the Agency, it should be provided that it is the Director’s responsibility to implement the decisions adopted by the Management Board, to prepare an anti-fraud strategy for the Agency, and to prepare an action plan to follow up on internal or external audit reports and OLAF or EPPO’s investigations.
(19)
To align Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 with the Common Approach it is necessary to provide that the Commission should commission the evaluation of the Agency every five years.
(20)
Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 should therefore be amended accordingly,
