"The commitment of the EU Commission to promote the respect of fundamental rights within the EU is a total one. The establishment of the Agency for Fundamental Rights is a step forward in endowing the Union with the authority required to successfully fight discrimination". From Vienna, where he attended the unveiling of the new EU Agency, the president of the Executive, José Manuel Barroso, speaks of the role given him by the Agency that replaced the Observatory on Racist and Xenophobic Phenomena. "When in full swing adds Barroso , the Agency will be, in my opinion, an effective resource for the EU Commission and the other EU bodies". And, in response to the doubts expressed as to the possibility that the Agency might just be a "replica" of other agencies that are already working in the field (for instance, the Council of Europe and the Court of Human Rights of Strasbourg), Barroso states: "I consider the Agency more an addition to than a competitor of the work carried out by other bodies". In fact the Executive "considers the Agency an essential resource to offer advice to the EU bodies and the member states, raise public awareness and provide information and details in support of the work on fundamental rights". (to be continued)
