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​Common goals are the foundation for cooperation between eu-LISA and FRA for the benefit of citizens who gain from innovative technologies as much as from ensured respect for fundamental rights and data protection. Today, within the framework of the working arrangement in force since 2016, the two Agencies signed a multiannual Cooperation Plan, which sets out activities that will provide benefits through joint actions.

eu-LISA and FRA will exchange information and expertise including the fundamental rights' implications on the interoperability architecture and collaborate to incorporate fundamental rights by design into the process of setting up interoperability of the EU large-scale IT systems.  The cooperation plan for 2020-2022 also includes close cooperation in training and awareness raising for EU Member States and countries associated with the IT systems under eu-LISA responsibility.

"Using our past collaboration as the foundations on which to extend our cooperation in the years to come is beneficial to us and Europe as a whole. Supporting one another in areas where our competencies differ and pooling our know-how together for the benefit of other EU Institutions is an opportunity we must build on.

The respect of civil rights and data protection is paramount in the proper operational management of the IT systems entrusted to eu-LISA. We look forward to deepening our common efforts with FRA to ensures that data handling is performed in the most secure and protected ways possible and that fundamental rights are never overlooked.

The challenges that the ongoing digital transformation in the EU faces are numerous. One of the biggest of them is about trust. Trust is fundamental if the European Union is to reach its goals. Showing citizens that their rights are protected as technology progresses is an important step on the way to making Europe a safer place to live and work. eu-LISA and FRA are 100% committed to making it happen together!" says Krum Garkov, Executive Director of eu-LISA.

It is in the common interest of both Agencies to promote and share activities with their stakeholders and the general public in order to provide increased visibility and further improve awareness of their respective responsibilities and joint successes. For this reason, the cooperation plan not only includes core-activity related plans but also communication and information sharing as an important business area for joint actions.

It is the aim of the Agencies to show that citizens' rights are protected as technology progresses on the way to making Europe a safer place to live and work.  Working in cooperation will make it more efficient to achieve this goal.

Background

European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

eu-LISA was established in 2011 in order to provide a long-term solution for IT-driven internal security and to support the implementation of asylum, migration and border management policies in Europe. Since then, eu-LISA has run Eurodac, SIS and VIS and has been providing Member State authorities with the expert training needed to help them with the constant exchange of information across Europe. Thanks to the trust eu-LISA has fostered over the years, we are now developing EES, ETIAS and ECRIS-TCN and ensuring interoperability between all six IT-systems, in order to take EU internal security and border management to the next level.

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is the EU's centre of fundamental human rights expertise. It provides expert advice to the EU institutions and its Member States on a range of issues. In doing so the FRA helps ensure that the fundamental rights of people living in the EU are protected. The Agency collects data on a wide range of fundamental rights, conducts research and analysis, provides independent advice to policymakers, networks with human rights stakeholders from the local to international level, and raises awareness of fundamental rights in the EU. The FRA is based in Vienna, Austria.

Contact

press [at] eulisa [dot] europa [dot] eu (press[at]eulisa[dot]europa[dot]eu)