Fundamental rights: Council approves its general approach on the Fundamental Rights Agency

The Council today (7 June 2021) approved a general approach on the regulation amending the regulation establishing the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights.

Main Objectives

This text aims to enhance the agency’s mandate and improve its functioning through more efficient procedures.

The compromise text includes in the remit of the agency the area of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, to align its mandate with the Lisbon treaty.

It would maintain the current situation as regards the Common Foreign and Security Policy, which would remain outside the agency’s remit.

Finally, the current multiannual framework to define the work programme of the agency will be replaced with a more operational annual and multiannual programming.

Next steps

The proposed text is a Council regulation based on Article 352 TFEU, which requires unanimity for adoption by the Council. In accordance to this special legislative procedure the adoption by the Council can only take place once the European Parliament has given its consent to the text.

Background

The mandate of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights is set out in a 2007 Council regulation. In June 2020 the Commission presented a proposal to adapt the mandate of the agency to the Lisbon Treaty and to bring the regulation in line with the common approach on decentralised agencies.