As established by the Brussels Summit ten months ago, the European Commission will present, in the course of 2005, a proposed regulation for the setting up of an agency for the fundamental rights of the European Union to take the place of the Vienna-based European watchdog for racist and xenophobic phenomena. To prepare this transformation as effectively as possible, and define the field of action and mission of such an agency (which in any case will entirely take over the mandate of the previous watchdog), the Commission recently launched a public consultation aimed mainly at NGOs dedicated to the defence of human rights and all those who actively contribute to the development of the protection of human rights within the EU. Further information can be obtained on the website: http://europa.eu.int
