The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is one of the decentralised agencies of the Euro­pean Union (EU). These agencies are set up to provide expert advice on a range of issues to EU institutions and EU Member States. FRA provides the EU institutions and EU Member States with independent, evidence-based advice on fundamental rights, to ensure full respect for fundamental rights across the EU. To achieve this goal, FRA performs the following main tasks:

• collecting and analysing information and data;
• providing assistance and expertise;
• communicating and raising awareness of funda­mental rights.

The agency fulfils its tasks by implementing activities within the thematic areas of its 5-year multiannual framework (MAF), which fall under the Charter of Fun­damental Rights of the European Union, to strengthen the protection of fundamental rights in the EU in light of societal changes and progress, and scientific and technological developments.

FRA carries out its tasks in consultation and cooperation with its partners. This allows the agency to do the following.

• Define its areas of work to ensure that its research responds to specific gaps and needs in the funda­mental rights field.
• Ensure that its advice and research reach policy­makers at the right levels of government and EU institutions.
• Develop communication, multimedia and informa­tion resources based on FRA’s Stakeholder Com­munication Framework Strategy to raise aware­ness and bring knowledge of fundamental rights to specific target groups and to European citizens in general.
• Share expertise, coordinate research in different areas and work with its partners to communicate its results and to update stakeholders in the EU and in Member States. This allows FRA to create syner­gies and support other bodies by delivering clear opinions on how to improve fundamental rights protection.