A new report looks at how EU agencies address the socioeconomic effects of sustainable development.

It draws on work carried out by the agencies, including FRA, related to sustainable development and the European Green Deal. It spans areas such as the economy, employment, skills and training, gender inequalities, health and safety, social rights, the role of regulation and social dialogue.

The European Union Agencies Network on Scientific Advice (EU-ANSA) compiled the report. The network consists of technical and regulatory agencies that provide scientific advice to EU policymakers.

During 2020-2021 the Veterans Ombud continued to address a variety of individual complaints of unfairness from Veterans and their families. The impact of the Omud’s work is illustrated in the stories in the 2020-2021 report – from assisting a Veteran to obtain payment for treatment, to resolving an overpayment issue, to obtaining the benefits to which a Veteran was entitled.

“When I was appointed in November 2020, my first priority was to understand the concerns of the Veteran community. We cannot help Veterans and their families if they don’t know who we are and what we do,” says Veterans Ombud Nishika Jardine.

Veterans continue to be deeply frustrated with the backlog of disability claims waiting to be decided by VAC. As has been the case for the past few years, this is the chief complaint the office receives. The Ombud’s individual investigations often also uncover systemic unfairness such as the lack of support for mental health treatment for families in their own right for conditions related to military service. The Office also identified gaps in how VAC counselled Veterans regarding their eligibility for the Supplementary Retirement Benefit and found that some Veterans may not have received this benefit when it was discontinued due to the provision of unclear information.

– Défenseur des droits de la République Française –

Le Parlement étant amené une nouvelle fois à se prononcer dans l’urgence sur un projet de loi comportant des mesures de gestion de la crise sanitaire, la Défenseure des droits souhaite dans ce délai contraint, rappeler dans un avis publié ce jour un certain nombre de points d’inquiétudes déjà formulés dans ses précédents avis et en formuler de nouveaux.

La Défenseure des droits redit une nouvelle fois que, si la situation de crise exceptionnelle liée à la pandémie de Covid-19 suppose des mesures exceptionnelles, celles-ci doivent se conformer au principe de légalité, et pour cela s’avérer strictement nécessaires, proportionnées et adaptées aux risques sanitaires encourus. Elles doivent être entourées de garanties pour assurer une protection contre les risques d’abus et d’arbitraire.

Tout en reconnaissant l’importance considérable de la vaccination dans la lutte contre la pandémie, la Défenseure des droits souhaite en particulier alerter et faire des observations sur les cinq points suivants.

Our Own Initiative report into how the Department for Communities (the Department) administer Personal Independence Payment placed a requirement on the Department to provide us with an Action Plan, outlining how it intends to address and implement our 33 recommendations.

An Action Plan and supporting evidence was provided to NIPSO at the end of December. The Own Initiative team is now in the process of reviewing the provided information and will continue to liaise with the Department in the coming months. NIPSO intends to report on the action taken by the Department in Summer 2022.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission is carrying out a multitude of anti-corruption efforts in the global arena by such as communicating with the Transparency International.

Chairperson Jeon Hyun-Heui of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Jeon Hyun-Heui) had a virtual meeting with the head of Transparency International (TI)*, CEO Daniel Eriksson on December 20, from 6:00 pm (10 am, Germany) to 6:50 pm. The meeting was held as a follow-up measure of the working-level meeting between the two organizations held on November 8 to 11.

*Transparency International (TI) is a non-profit organization founded in 1993 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It publishes Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of 180 countries every year and carries out other various anti-corruption efforts.