Se ha puesto de manifiesto ante esta Institución los inconvenientes para acreditar las circunstancias especiales de conformidad con lo establecido en la Orden ETU/943/2017, de 6 de octubre, por la que se desarrolla el Real Decreto 897/2017, de 6 de octubre, mediante el cual regula la figura del consumidor vulnerable, el bono social y otras medidas de protección para los consumidores domést...

Data: 2018-04-09

- Without independent courts, there can be no appropriate protection of civil rights and freedoms in Poland, said CHR Adam Bodnar after his meeting with Frans Timmermans. The Commissioner presented his opinion on the reform of the Polish judiciary system to the First Vice-President of the European Commission and concluded that it poses a risk to the independence of the judiciary and the protection of civil rights and freedoms.

23. 04. 2018

On 17 April 2018, the Ombudsman presented the new mandate in the field of protection of the rights of EU citizens to the EU and EEA Ambassadors. The meeting was held at the French embassy under the auspices of French Ambassador Roland Galharague.

The meeting offered the opportunity to explain not only the general contours of the functioning and tasks of the Ombudsman in the Czech Republic but also the specific new agenda (from 1 January 2018) concerning the protection of the rights of EU citizens. The presentation was led by the Ombudswoman, Anna Šabatová, and two of her colleagues, Iva Fellerová Palkovská who is the EU citizens’ rights specialist and Tereza Domanská, the specialist in the field of the asylum and migration law. The discussions during the meeting showed high interest of the ambassadors resulting into a vivid and mutually enriching conversation. The Ambassadors were pleased to be informed about the new competence of the Ombudsman; they also shared with the Ombudswoman the difficulties their citizens face in the Czech Republic most often according to their practical experience. This was an excellent opportunity for the Ombudswoman and her colleagues to gather important topics for their future work in this agenda.

On 20 April 2018 Ombudsman of Latvia Mr Juris Jansons participated in board meeting of the European Ombudsman Institute (EOI) in Zurich, Switzerland.

Agenda of the board meeting included reports on the activities of the board and EOI members, admission of new members, international collaboration and prepartaion of international conference.

Equinet Chair and Deputy Ombudswoman Tena Simonovic Einwalter met with Věra, Jourová Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, on April 12, 2018 in Brussels. The theme of the meeting, which was held within the process of consulting the Standards for Equality Bodies, was the Commission Action Plan to tackle the gender pay gap and Equinet Working Paper on Developing Standards for Equality Bodies.

In order to ensure the effective application of the EU’s equal treatment legislation in practice, the Racial Equality Directive (2000/43/EC) and the Gender Equality Directives (2006/54/EC, 2004/113/EC and 2010/41/EU) require that Member States set up equality bodies. Their competences must include (i) providing independent assistance to victims of discrimination in pursuing complaints, (ii) conducting independent surveys, and (iii) publishing independent reports and making recommendations.

The text of the Directives leaves discretion to Member States as to the structure and functioning of equality bodies. This has resulted in significant differences between the bodies established in the Member States, in terms of mandate, competences, structures and resources. In recent years, a number of equality bodies have faced significant reductions in their budgets, and several cases of external pressure and undue interference have been reported. The functioning of a number of equality bodies has been severely hampered, as is evidenced by the increase in complaints about their independence and effectiveness. Studies report problems in the setting up of functioning equality bodies in a number of Member States. In particular, they observe that unequal and sometimes insufficient access to protection has been set up for citizens depending on their Member State, and that only an EU-level action can help ensure that equality bodies function efficiently and in an equivalent way across the Union.

The present initiative aims at tackling these issues and helping equality bodies reach their full potential, by setting up recommendations in relation to their mandate, independence, effectiveness and institutional architecture.