Europese Unie krijgt in 2007 agentschap voor fundamentele rechten (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The EU plans to set up a new fundamental rights agency by January 2007 to give an overview on human rights issues in Europe.

The new agency is supposed to extend the agenda and powers of the existing EU anti-racism center, based in Vienna.

Speaking at a public hearing on Tuesday (25 January) in Brussels, Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said the agency "is a logical consequence of the growing importance of fundamental issues within the EU".

However, Mr Frattini's unveiling of plans for the agency had as much to do with the fact that the issue was fast-tracked following controversial statements by the Italian Commissioner-appointee, Rocco Buttiglione last year.

Mr Buttiglione's ideas about homosexuality and the role of women sparked protests among MEPs and forced Commission President José Manuel Durao Barroso to promise to put human rights at the top of his Commission's agenda.

Vague remit

The scope of the new agency's tasks and its real powers are still not clear.

"The agency, as far as we're concerned, is not something to monitor the member states, nor should it be a forum for setting standards", said Luxembourg Justice Minister Luc Frieden, whose country currently heads the EU.

Still, the new body is expected to make recommendations on the human rights record in Europe on the basis of its own research.

"It should be an independent office with freedom and essential resources to collect information and then to advise the EU institutions", Commissioner Frattini told journalists.

How to be active, but not over-active

Throughout the public consultation on the issue, several speakers pointed out that the agency should not duplicate tasks already performed by other human rights organisations.

According to Amnesty International, the new body should fill the gap between principle and practice in the way the EU addresses human rights within its own borders.

However, the organisation doubted its real impact and suggested that it is likely to have a marginal role, as member states will not allow it "to exercise any real oversight of the respect for human rights in their own countries".

Commissioner Frattini admitted that he expected concerns from some national leaders about the expanding human rights agenda initiated at the European level.

"But they should realize that it is not dangerous for them, it is in their own interest. After all, we have to realize that yes to Constitution has also been yes to the Charter of Fundamental rights. So we are not only morally, but also politically, obliged to back up its mandate".

Following the Buttiglione affair last year, a team of Commissioners focusing solely on fundamental rights was also set up - their brief is to ensure that Commission initiatives take into account human rights issues.