Legal provisions of COM(2020)225 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 establishing a EU Agency for Fundamental Rights - Main contents
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dossier | COM(2020)225 - Amendment of Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 establishing a EU Agency for Fundamental Rights. |
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document | COM(2020)225 |
date | April 5, 2022 |
Article 1
Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 168/2007
Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 is amended as follows:
(1) | Article 2 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 2 Objective The objective of the Agency shall be to provide the relevant Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and the Member States when implementing Union law with assistance and expertise relating to fundamental rights in order to support them when they take measures or formulate courses of action within their respective spheres of competence to fully respect fundamental rights.’; |
(2) | Article 3 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 3 Scope 1. The Agency shall carry out its tasks for the purpose of meeting the objective set out in Article 2 within the competences of the Union. 2. In carrying out its tasks, the Agency shall refer to fundamental rights as referred to in Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). 3. The Agency shall deal with fundamental rights issues in the Union and the Member States when implementing Union law, except for Union or Member States’ acts or activities in relation with or in the framework of the common foreign and security policy.’; |
(3) | Article 4 is amended as follows:
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(4) | Article 5 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 5 Areas of activity The Agency shall carry out its tasks on the basis of its annual and multiannual work programmes, which shall be in accordance with the available financial and human resources. This shall be without prejudice to the responses of the Agency to requests from the European Parliament, the Council or the Commission under Article 4(1), points (c) and (d) outside the areas determined by the annual and multiannual work programmes, provided that its financial and human resources so permit.’; |
(5) | the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 5a Annual and multiannual programming 1. Each year the Director shall draw up a draft programming document, containing in particular the annual and multiannual work programmes, in accordance with Article 32 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 (*1). 2. The Director shall submit the draft programming document to the Management Board. The Director shall submit the draft programming document to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission no later than 31 January each year, as endorsed by the Management Board. In the Council, the competent preparatory body shall discuss the draft multiannual work programme and may invite the Agency to present that draft. 3. The Director shall also submit the draft programming document to the national liaison officers referred to in Article 8(1) and to the Scientific Committee no later than 31 January each year with a view to allowing the relevant Member States and the Scientific Committee to issue their opinions on the draft. 4. In light of the outcome of the discussion within the competent Council preparatory body and of the opinions received from the Commission, the Member States and the Scientific Committee, the Director shall submit the draft programming document to the Management Board for adoption. The Director shall submit the adopted programming document to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the national liaison officers referred to in Article 8(1). (*1) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 122, 10.5.2019, p. 1).’;" |
(6) | in Article 6(2), point (a) is replaced by the following:
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(7) | Article 7 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 7 Relations with relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies The Agency shall ensure appropriate coordination with relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies. The terms of cooperation shall be laid down in memoranda of understanding where appropriate.’; |
(8) | Article 8 is amended as follows:
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(9) | Article 9 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 9 Cooperation with the Council of Europe In order to avoid duplication and in order to ensure complementarity and added value, the Agency shall coordinate its activities with those of the Council of Europe, particularly with regard to its annual and multiannual work programmes and cooperation with civil society in accordance with Article 10. To that end, the Union shall, in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 218 TFEU, enter into an agreement with the Council of Europe for the purpose of establishing close cooperation between the latter and the Agency. That agreement shall include the appointment of an independent person by the Council of Europe to sit on the Agency’s Management Board and on its Executive Board, in accordance with Articles 12 and 13.’; |
(10) | in Article 10(4), point (a) is replaced by the following:
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(11) | Article 12 is amended as follows:
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(12) | Article 13 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 13 Executive Board 1. The Management Board shall be assisted by an Executive Board. The Executive Board shall supervise the necessary preparatory work for the decisions to be adopted by the Management Board. In particular, it shall scrutinise budgetary and human resources matters. 2. The Executive Board shall also:
3. Where necessary, for reasons of urgency, the Executive Board may take provisional decisions on behalf of the Management Board, including on the suspension of the delegation of the appointing authority powers in accordance with the conditions referred to in Article 12(7a) and (7b) and on budgetary matters. 4. The Executive Board shall be composed of the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson of the Management Board, two other members of the Management Board elected by the Management Board in accordance with Article 12(5) and one of the representatives of the Commission in the Management Board. The person appointed by the Council of Europe in the Management Board may participate in the meetings of the Executive Board. 5. The Executive Board shall be convened by the Chairperson. It may also be convened at the request of one of its members. It shall adopt its decisions by a majority of its members present. The person appointed by the Council of Europe may vote on items related to the decisions on which that person has a right to vote in the Management Board in accordance with Article 12(8). 6. The Director shall take part in the meetings of the Executive Board, without voting rights.’; |
(13) | Article 14 is amended as follows:
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(14) | Article 15 is amended as follows:
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(15) | in Article 17, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. Where the Agency takes decisions under Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, a complaint may be lodged with the Ombudsman or an action may be brought in the Court of Justice of the European Union (Court of Justice), as provided for in Articles 228 and 263 TFEU respectively.’; |
(16) | Article 19 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 19 Review by the Ombudsman The operations of the Agency shall be subject to the supervision of the Ombudsman in accordance with Article 228 TFEU.’; |
(17) | Article 20 is amended as follows:
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(18) | Article 24 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 24 Staff 1. The Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment and the rules adopted jointly by the Union institutions for the purpose of applying the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment shall apply to the staff of the Agency and its Director. 2. The Management Board may adopt provisions to allow national experts from Member States to be employed on secondment at the Agency.’; |
(19) | Article 26 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 26 Privileges and immunities Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union, annexed to the TEU and to the TFEU, shall apply to the Agency.’; |
(20) | in Article 27, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction in actions brought against the Agency under the conditions provided for in Articles 263 and 265 TFEU.’; |
(21) | in Article 28, paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following: ‘2. The participation referred to in paragraph 1 and the relevant modalities shall be determined by a decision of the relevant Association Council, taking into account the specific status of each country. The decision shall indicate in particular the nature, extent and manner in which those countries will participate in the Agency’s work, within the framework set in Articles 4 and 5, including provisions relating to participation in initiatives undertaken by the Agency, to the financial contribution and to staff. The decision shall comply with this Regulation and with the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment. The decision shall provide that the participating country may appoint an independent person fulfilling the qualifications for persons referred to in Article 12(1), point (a) as observer to the Management Board without a right to vote. Upon the decision of the Association Council the Agency may deal with fundamental rights issues within the scope of Article 3(1) in the relevant country, to the extent necessary for the gradual alignment to Union law of the country concerned. 3. The Council, acting unanimously on a proposal by the Commission, may decide to invite a country with which a Stabilisation and Association Agreement has been concluded by the Union to participate in the Agency as an observer. If it does so, paragraph 2 shall apply accordingly.’; |
(22) | Article 29 is deleted; |
(23) | Article 30 is amended as follows:
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(24) | Article 31 is deleted. |
Article 2
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.