European Fundamental Rights Agency
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The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights is a Vienna-based agency of the European Union inaugurated on March 1, 2007. It was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 of 15 February 2007 as the successor to the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC).
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[edit] Mandate
Its mandate is "collecting and analysing data on fundamental rights with reference to, in principle, all rights listed in the Charter"; however, it is intended to focus particularly on "the thematic areas within the scope of Union law".[1] This is an expansion upon the scope of the present EUMC, which is restricted to issues of racism and xenophobia.
Like the previous EUMC, its primary methods of operation are investigation, reports, provision of expert assistance to EU bodies, member states, and EU candidate countries and potential candidate countries, and the education of the public. It is not intended to intervene in individual cases - that being the remit of the European Court of Human Rights - but rather investigate broad issues and trends.
The European Parliament tasked the agency to continue research started by MEPs into homophobia in Poland.[2]
[edit] Previous work of the EUMC
The "European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia" was also based in Vienna. It grew from the Commission on Racism and Xenophobia (CRX), established in 1994, and also known as the Kahn Commission. In 1995, the Kahn the CRX was transformed into the EUMC in June 1998; officially established by Council Regulation (EC) No 1035/97 of 2 June 1997.
[edit] Report into rise in antisemitic attacks in the EU
In 2003 a report labelled 'Manifestations of antisemitism in the EU 2002 – 2003'[1] was published. It detailed a rise in attacks targeting Jewish businesses, synagogues, cemeteries and Jews themselves. The countries with the most significant number of attacks were Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. It is the only report made by the EUMC on antisemitism.
[edit] Report into Islamophobia in the EU following 9/11
The largest monitoring project ever to be commissioned into Islamophobia was undertaken following 9/11 by the European Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC).
From a total of 75 reports, 15 from each member state, a synthesis report was published in May 2002. Entitled "Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001" it was co-authored by Chris Allen [2] and Professor Jørgen S. Nielsen at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.
The report highlighted occasions in which citizens abused and sometimes violently attacked Muslims. Discrimination included verbal abuse, indiscriminately accusing Muslims of responsibility for the attacks, removing women's hijab, spitting, using the name "Usama" as a pejorative epithet, and assaults.
The report concluded that "a greater receptivity towards anti-Muslim and other xenophobic ideas and sentiments has, and may well continue, to become more tolerated."[3]
[edit] See also
- Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
- European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom & Security
- European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs & Equal Opportunities
- Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
- Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality
- European Court of Justice
- European Court of Human Rights
- European Convention on Human Rights
[edit] External links
- Agency website europa.eu
- The European Fundamental Rights Agency comes into existence on 1 March 2007
- The EU Fundamental Rights Agency: Satellite or Guiding Star? Raison d'etre, tasks and challenges of the EU's new agency Details and analysis by Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik
- Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 of 15 February 2007 fra.europa.eu
[edit] References
- ^ Commission proposal ec.europa.eu
- ^ Polish homophobia reminiscent of Thatcher years, MEP says euobserver.com
- ^ ALLEN, C. & NIELSEN, J. (2002) Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001. Vienna: European Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia.
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