European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights

FRA – the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights – was established in 2007 as an independent body and is effectively the EU's own human rights institution. FRA has the same tasks as the national human rights institutions in the individual EU Member States, but covering the whole of the EU. This means that FRA advises the EU and its Member States on fundamental human rights and their implementation in national legislation. FRA performs this task by collecting data in the EU and cooperating with EU institutions, Member States and organisations.

On some occasions, the EU has attracted criticism for pointing to human rights abuses in states outside of the EU while there are states within EU borders that are failing to respect human rights. This means that FRA has to ensure continued focus on human rights both within and outside of the EU.