Today we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Agreement between the EU and Council of Europe on cooperation of the Council of Europe and our Agency. 10 years on from the Agreement, our collaboration has become a fixture in Europe’s human rights landscape. I am grateful to the Council of Europe for its support, and look forward to continuing our work together to ensure that the rights of everyone in the EU and in Europe are defended and respected. ** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY **

In our politics, there has been a normalisation of the unacceptable in terms of word and deed. That includes racist and xenophobic words and deeds, which are now as pervasive as they are corrosive to democratic life in the European Union and around the world. Our Agency’s data show worsening conditions across all major areas of our work. ** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY **

We can be sad and we can be angry. But we also need to persevere. We need to keep reminding our governments to acknowledge the impact of anti-Gypsyism that undermines their own considerable investment in Roma inclusion. Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos provides welcome remarks at the 12th Platform meeting on 9 October 2018.

Today’s threats to human rights know no frontiers. Safeguarding these rights means renewing our commitment to multilateralism and working together to ensure all people can live in dignity and security. FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty gives a keynote speech at the conference in Warsaw, 7 September 2018.