On February 20, 2026, in order to raise awareness of children's rights, an interactive meeting was organized for children by the Public Defender of Georgia, the European Union Office in Georgia and the UNICEF. The theme of the meeting was: Children for Their Rights: A Dialogue between Children and Leaders.

At the meeting, young people were given the opportunity to share their views and engage in a direct dialogue on their rights with Public Defender Levan Ioseliani, Deputy Public Defender Irine Chikhladze, Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Georgia Lenka Vitkova, and Acting Representative of UNICEF in Georgia Alexandru Nartea.

In his speech, the Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, emphasized the importance of explaining to children the mechanisms for protecting their rights. The participants were also presented with information materials on children's rights, adapted for children, prepared by the Public Defender's Office with the support of the European Union and the United Nations Children's Fund, which aim to make information about children's rights and existing protection mechanisms more accessible, interesting and easily understandable for children. Special attention was paid to the importance of the prepared materials, including their direct use in schools. The discussion was followed by a practical part, where children had the opportunity to better understand the materials and share ideas on how the situation of children's rights protection could be improved in the country.

La plataforma recoge los datos presentados en la Mesa Institucional para el Abordaje del Sinhogarismo y permite consultar información detallada por municipios
 

El Síndic de Greuges de Cataluña ha puesto en marcha una nueva página web con datos territorializados sobre el sinhogarismo en Cataluña, con el objetivo de reforzar la transparencia, mejorar el conocimiento del fenómeno y contribuir a una toma de decisiones coordinada entre administraciones.

La plataforma se basa en los datos presentados recientemente en el marco de la Mesa Institucional para el Abordaje del Sinhogarismo, celebrada el pasado 11 de diciembre en el Recinto Modernista de Sant Pau. Estos datos se han obtenido mediante cuestionarios enviados a municipios del área metropolitana de Barcelona y municipios de más de 20.000 habitantes (en total, 84 municipios catalanes, de los cuales han respondido 81).

Una herramienta al servicio de la coordinación institucional

La presentación de la plataforma responde al compromiso institucional adquirido durante la primera reunión de la Mesa, en la que representantes del Gobierno catalán, de los ayuntamientos y de entidades del tercer sector coincidieron en la necesidad de alcanzar un acuerdo de país para abordar el problema del sinhogarismo de forma estructural y coordinada.

El objetivo de la nueva web es convertirse en una herramienta de apoyo para los cinco grupos de trabajo constituidos para elaborar propuestas concretas que garanticen una gobernanza compartida y una respuesta armonizada en todo el territorio.

Principales funcionalidades de la plataforma

La nueva plataforma permite consultar los resultados de estos indicadores de forma desagregada por municipio y facilita un análisis comparativo y evolutivo del fenómeno. Entre estos indicadores se encuentran:

• Número y proporción de personas sin hogar
• Personas en situación de calle y en asentamientos
• Seguimiento de las personas sin hogar por parte de los servicios sociales
• Datos sociodemográficos del sinhogarismo (edad, género, nacionalidad, etc.)
• Disponibilidad presupuestaria
• Plazas residenciales y de emergencia disponibles en el municipio

Wednesday 25 February 2026, 9.00 – 12.30 and 15.30 – 18.30
Thursday 26 February 2026 9.00 – 12.30

European Parliament in Brussels, the Spinelli building, room 3G2

Debates (Wednesday):

Mission report on the fact-finding visit to Canary Islands, Spain (15-17 September 2025)

Mission report on the fact-finding visit to Madeira, Portugal (27-29 October 2025)

Structured dialogue with Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection.

Petitions

Wednesday

Petition No 2304/2025 by Luis García Enrique (Spanish) on the establishment of a non-invasive national system to improve the recruitment of bone marrow donors in Spain (in the presence of the petitioner).

Petition No 1105/2025 by István-László Pap (Romanian) on measures to protect art made by people from Artificial Intelligence in the EU.

Petition No 2009/2025 on alleged non-execution of a European Arrest Warrant and violation of judicial cooperation between Hungary and Poland (possibly in the presence of the petitioner).

Petition No 0733/2004 by Loizos Afxentiou (Cypriot), on behalf of the Famagusta Refugee Movement, on the return of the closed area of the occupied town of Famagusta to the original inhabitants (In the presence of the petitioner and the Mayor of Famagusta).

Petition No 1187/2025 by Matea Šverko (Croatian), on behalf of “Inicijativa Dajla”, on alleged violation of EU environmental law by the construction of the port of Dajla-Belveder in Croatia (In the presence of the petitioner).

Petition No 1524/2025 by Jacopo Graziani (Italian), on behalf of the committee Tuteliamo la Salute (‘We protect health’), on the expansion of waste treatment facilities in Veneto and the need to safeguard groundwater resources accordingly (In the presence of the petitioner).

Petition No 1811/2025 by R. L. B. (Spanish) on the construction of a waste facility near a school and its environmental impact in Madrid, Spain (In the presence of the petitioner).

Petition No 0577/2021 and 1033/2021 on Barcelona’s low emissions zone and the new Metropolitan Urban Mobility Plan 2019-2024 (In the presence of the petitioner by remote connection).

Petition No 0288/2022 and 0450/2022 on development projects and alleged violations of EU environmental legislation in the Akamas peninsula in Cyprus (In the presence of the petitioner by remote connection).

Thursday

Petition No 2249/2025 by M. S. (Polish), on behalf of Federation of Trade Unions of Agricultural Producers, on food safety in international trade (Possibly in the presence of the petitioner).

Petition No 1904/2025 by Soranib Nathali Hernández de Deffendini (Spanish) on EU Directive 2024/1260 on asset recovery and confiscation in Venezuela (In the presence of the petitioner).

Petition No. 0063/2025 by S. P. (Italian), with 44 other signatories, on the allegedly unfair legal and economic treatment of teachers at music academies and conservatories vis-à-vis university lecturers in Italy (In the presence of the petitioner).

Petition No 0987/2022 by José Antonio Galdón Ruiz (Spanish), on behalf of the Consejo General de Ingenieros Técnicos y Peritos Industriales de España, on alleged violation of EU law by Spain regarding the free provision of services due to unjustified professional reservations in favour of architects (In the presence of the petitioner).

Petitions No 2281/2025, 2361/2025, 2414/2025 and 2570/2025 on requesting the review of the compatibility of Spain’s mandatory V16 beacon regulation with EU law.

Petition No 0832/2025 by E. M. (Maltese), on behalf of the L-Iklin Local Council Malta, on nuisances caused by an asphalt processing facility in a residential area in Malta (In the presence of the petitioner).

Petition No. 1559/2025 and 1268/2025 on the accessibility impact of mandatory tethered bottle caps and paper straws in the EU (Possibly in the presence of the petitioners).

Petition No 1201/2025 by Ana Fiala (Czech) on the implementation of the EU carbon trading scheme for private households (In the presence of the petitioner by remote connection).

Date and place of next meeting

Monday 23 March 2026, 15.00 – 18.30 (Brussels)

Tuesday 24 March 2026 9.00 – 12.30 and 14.30 – 18.30 (Brussels)

European Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho has welcomed the European Commission’s overall constructive reply to her findings in a series of inquiries concerning urgent decision making.

In its reply, the Commission recognised the importance of ensuring derogations from its standard policy-making rules in the case of urgency are properly recorded and explained. As part of its plans to revise these internal rules, the Commission also indicated it will reflect on ways to be more transparent in its assessments of the need to act urgently.

As set out in the Ombudswoman’s recommendations, the Commission must ensure, as required by the Treaties and case law, a transparent, evidence-based, and inclusive preparation of ‘urgent’ legislative proposals.

The Ombudswoman will now analyse the Commission’s reply in detail before drawing final conclusions. Her analysis will also take into consideration feedback she expects to receive from the complainants.

Background

The Ombudswoman conducted three separate complaint-based inquiries that examined the extent to which the Commission applied its own Better Regulation rules when preparing legislative drafts concerning corporate sustainability due diligence (Omnibus I), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and countering migrant smuggling.

She found a number of procedural shortcomings in how the Commission applied these rules, which taken together amount to maladministration.

In two forward-looking recommendations, the Ombudswoman asked the Commission to ensure a predictable, consistent and non-arbitrary application of the Better Regulation rules and that future urgent preparation of legislative proposals is always transparent, evidence-based, and inclusive. She also made a number of suggestions in light of the upcoming revision of the rules.

I am concerned about the prosecution of Géza Buzás-Hábel, a young teacher and community activist now facing criminal charges and the possibility of imprisonment for organising Pécs Pride in October 2025. His wrongdoing was organising a peaceful march for human rights and equality, and the exercise of one of democracy’s fundamental freedoms: the right to peaceful assembly.

This case is not isolated. Just last month, charges were brought against Gergely Karácsony, the Mayor of Budapest, in relation to the organisation of the 2025 Budapest Pride March.

These developments signal a move backwards as Hungarian authorities implement constitutional and legal amendments, adopted in March and April 2025, which effectively ban peaceful events that promote LGBTI equality. The amendments, which I have previously critiqued, fuel discrimination and shrink civic space.

The indictments must be seen within a wider context of successive measures that target human rights defenders through legal restrictions and stigmatisation.

I call on the Hungarian authorities to drop the charges against Géza Buzás-Hábel and, as the President of the Council of Europe Congress also recently urged, against Gergely Karácsony. Furthermore, I urge them to halt the use of criminal and administrative measures which deter peaceful assembly; to amend or repeal the laws underpinning these restrictions; and to reverse the clampdown on human rights defenders and civic space.