FRANET: Data collection and research services on fundamental rights issues

FRANET is a multidisciplinary research network of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). The objective of FRA is to provide the relevant institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the European Union and its Member States, when implementing EU law, with assistance and expertise relating to fundamental rights. The FRANET network is composed of contractors in each EU Member State. The aim of FRANET is to provide FRA with objective, reliable and comparable data on fundamental rights issues to facilitate FRA's comparative analyses at EU level. Within the network, the contractors deliver various thematic studies with respect to specific fundamental rights issues in each EU country concerned. The national FRANET teams also contribute to the annual Fundamental Rights Report compiled by FRA.

The Institute for Human Rights at Åbo Akademi University has been a part of the FRANET network since 2011, first together with the Finnish League for Human Rights. As from 2019, the Institute for Human Rights at Åbo Akademi University and the Faculty of Law at the University of Turku form the national focal point of FRANET in Finland. The FInnish FRANET team is led by professor Elina Pirjatanniemi at the Institute for Human Rights and professor Janne Salminen at the University of Turku.