FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty opened the meeting of the FRP Advisory Panel on 14 June at FRA, providing an overview of the Agency’s recent and upcoming work. He highlighted the recently adopted FRA strategy, emphasising its increased focus on providing assistance, expertise and capacity building, particularly to EU Member State governments. After a brief overview of FRA’s ongoing projects and latest publications, he invited the Panel to use the two-day meeting to give input on how to further develop the FRP, both in view of increasing civil society consultation on and contributions to FRA projects, and in regard to the Platform’s potential role as a ‘protective space’ in a context of increasing challenges to civil society organisations across the EU.

Many of the 2.5 million domestic workers in the EU risk being exploited, unaware of their rights and unprotected by a lack of inspections monitoring how they are being treated, finds a new European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights paper. It also suggests ways to help combat exploitation.

On 13 June, the Heads of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), European Police Office (Europol), European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA), European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), EU Judicial Cooperation Unit (Eurojust), European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL), and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) signed a Joint Statement to strengthen their commitment to a coordinated, coherent and comprehensive response to trafficking in human beings.