Commissioner for Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, participated in the parliamentary symposium “Open and Inclusive Society. The Role and Mission of Equality Bodies” organized by the National Council of the Parliament of Austria on the occasion of the implementation of the European Union Directives on the standards of equality bodies, which prescribe strengthening the role and position of these bodies by expanding their competences and powers, providing additional resources and a higher degree of independence.

In the panel discussion, Janković pointed out that there is already a high level of compliance of the domestic legal framework with the latest standards envisaged by the EU and stated that the institution of the Commissioner, in addition to acting on complaints, among other things, has the authority to send recommendations of measures to public authorities, submit initiatives to ammend laws, as well as being actively legitimized procedurally in lawsuits for protection against discrimination. The Commissioner also pointed to aspects in which it is possible to improve the domestic legal framework, primarily in connection with ensuring the Commissioner’s access to information necessary for determining discrimination and prescribing greater autonomy in the provision and management of financial and human resources.

The symposium was opened by Doris Bures, Second President of the National Council, and Sandra Konstatzky, director of the Austrian Ombud for Equal Treatment. Participants included representatives of European organizations and institutions for equality, politics, and civil society, as well as Austrian bodies for the protection of equality.