Regulation 2022/555 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 establishing a EU Agency for Fundamental Rights - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 108/1

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In order to ensure smooth...