Brussels, 04/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Agency for Fundamental Rights could finally open its doors on 1 January 2007. As expected, European justice ministers agreed on Monday during the JHA Council to the setting up of the new agency. The Netherlands, expressed a reservation, however, while waiting for a recommendation from their Senate (Monday evening), which led to a delay in the definitive adoption of the regulation on setting up the agency. Definitive adoption of the regulation is expected Tuesday morning.
The role of this agency will be to help elaborate policies for controlling and promoting respect for fundamental rights. It will replace the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia and will have a broader mandate than the latter. This agency will have three main objectives: the analysis of collected data, provision of advice to institutions and providing information and raising public awareness about European legislation on fundamental rights. Protection of fundamental rights in European Union policies will be done in synergy with the work of the Council of Europe, this latter institution will remain the point of fundamental reference in human rights issues. The future agency is expected to have a personnel of 100 and a budget that will gradually rise from €16 million in 2007 to 29 million in 2013. In comparison, the current European Monitoring Centre has an annual budget of €8.2 million and employs 37 people. The agency will have geographical competency in Member States and accession candidate countries.
Nevertheless, only the regulation governing the Community chapter (1st pillar) of the agency was adopted. Member States did not manage to agree on a second regulation that would have allowed for the agency to deal with the political aspects of the Union in police and judicial affairs (third pillar). Ministers made do with the final declaration in which a rendezvous clause figures which sets the date for enlargement of competencies of the agency for 31 December 2009. In the meantime, the agency will still be able to examine police and legal matters on the condition that a restrictive seisin is carried out by the three institutions (EP, Council and Commission) and that Member States agree. The European Parliament will give a favourable opinion in the December plenary. (bc)