EU Member States are increasingly involved in border management activities on the high seas, within – or i cooperation with – third countries, and at the EU’s borders. Such activities entail risks of violating the principle of non-refoulement, the cornerstone of the international legal regime for the protection of refugees, which prohibits returning individuals to a risk of persecution. This report aims to encourage fundamental-rights compliant approaches to border management, including by highlighting potential grey areas.

Without being exhaustive, this opinion discusses selected topics which touch certain Charter rights, identifying the challenges and describing measures that could be taken to mitigate the risk of actions, which are not compliant with the Charter. It does not focus exclusively on risks arising in direct relation to the involvement of EU actors on the ground, but also takes into account that the hotspot approach entails a certain share of responsibility of the EU for the situation in the hotspots overall.

Asylum seekers and migrants face various forms of violence and harassment across the European Union (EU). As this month’s report on the migration situation underscores, such acts are both perpetrated and condoned by state authorities, private individuals, as well as vigilante groups. They increasingly also target activists and politicians perceived as ‘pro-refugee’.

In view of the increasing numbers of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants entering the EU, the European Commission asked FRA to collect data about the fundamental rights situation of people arriving in those Member States that have been particularly affected by large migration movements. This month's focus section reviews persistent key issues since initial reporting began one year ago.

Im Jahr 2015 haben die Europäische Union (EU) und ihre Mitgliedstaaten
zahlreiche Maßnahmen für die Wahrung und Stärkung der Grundrechte
ergriffen und durchgeführt. Der von der FRA vorgelegte Grundrechte-
Bericht 2016 bietet eine Zusammenfassung und Analyse der wichtigsten
einschlägigen Entwicklungen, wobei sowohl die erzielten Fortschritte als
auch die nach wie vor bestehenden Hindernisse beleuchtet werden. Darüber
hinaus äußert sich die FRA in dieser Veröffentlichung zu den wichtigsten
Entwicklungen in den genannten Themenbereichen und gibt einen
Überblick über die ihren Stellungnahmen zugrunde liegenden Evidenzdaten.
Insgesamt bietet diese Veröffentlichung einen knappen, aber informativen
Überblick über die größten Herausforderungen, mit denen die EU und ihre
Mitgliedstaaten im Bereich der Grundrechte konfrontiert sind.

This Focus takes a closer look at asylum and migration issues in the European Union (EU) in 2015. It looks at the effectiveness of measures taken or proposed by the EU and its Member States to manage this situation, with particular reference to their fundamental rights compliance.

FRA’s opinions highlight general fundamental rights implications to be considered when applying the safe countries of origin concept. They should be read together with the relevant safeguards the Asylum Procedures Directive establishes. These safeguards provide for minimum guarantees that must also fully apply to applicants originating from countries on the proposed EU common list of safe countries of origin.

Die Ausbeutung von Arbeitskräften ist kein vereinzelt auftretendes oder nebensächliches
Phänomen. Aber ungeachtet ihrer weiten Verbreitung und Alltäglichkeit haben schwere Arbeitsausbeutung
und ihre negativen Auswirkungen auf Drittstaatsangehörige und EU-BürgerInnen –
als Arbeitskräfte, aber auch als VerbraucherInnen – bislang bei WissenschaftlerInnen kaum
Beachtung gefunden. Im Rahmen der umfangreichen Feld- und Sekundärforschung der FRA
wurden die unterschiedlichen strafrechtlich relevanten Formen der schweren Ausbeutung von
Arbeitskräften aus anderen EU-Mitgliedstaaten oder Drittstaaten erstmals umfassend untersucht. Ziel war es, die diesbezüglichen Wissenslücken zu schließen und das derzeit herrschende
Klima der stillschweigenden Akzeptanz schwerer Arbeitsausbeutung in Frage zu stellen.

In view of the increasing numbers of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants entering the EU, the European Commission asked FRA to collect data about the fundamental rights situation of people arriving in those Member States that have been particularly affected by large migration movements.

Processing biometric data for immigration, asylum and border management purposes has become common. This focus paper looks at measures authorities can take to enforce the obligation of newly arrived asylum seekers and migrants in an irregular situation to provide fingerprints for inclusion in Eurodac.

This report explores the key features of guardianship systems put in place to cater for the needs of all children in need of protection, including child victims and those at risk of becoming victims of trafficking in human beings or of other forms of exploitation. The research covers four specific areas, namely the type of guardianship systems in place, the profile of appointed guardians, the appointment procedures, and the tasks of the guardians.