On 5 October 2023  Mr. O’Flaherty shared his reflections on the cooperation between FRA and the Council of Europe during the annual exchange of views with the Rapporteur Group on External Relations of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (GR-EXT). Both FRA and the Council of Europe have significantly increased their cooperation. FRA has been engaging in multiple intergovernmental committees, the PACE, expert groups and monitoring bodies. Among the joint initiatives, FRA produced joint handbooks on European Law with the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights, the most famous one being the handbook on asylum with 120,000 copies distributed. Furthermore, FRA has developed the European Union Fundamental Information System (EFRIS) which draws together human rights data by gathering reports and assessments from the Council of Europe, among other sources. The cooperation between FRA and the Council of Europe is elevated by the accession of the EU to different Council of Europe instruments, such as the Istanbul Convention, and FRA’s acceptance of states with observer status, including EU candidate countries. This practice aims to harmonize standards and practices.

Director Michael O'Flaherty also met with the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Council of Europe and briefed the EU Ambassadors at the Delegation of the European Union to the Council of Europe on the latest FRA’s bulletin on ‘The Russian aggression against Ukraine – Displaced children finding protection in the EU’. The focus of the meeting was on the challenges faced by Ukrainian children who fled and are currently in EU countries.

You can find out more about the cooperation between FRA and the Council of Europe here: https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/2022_report_on_fra-coe_cooperation_-_english_version_0.pdf