Social affairs chief condemns anti-discrimination law hold-up

Date: 19/06/03

SOCIAL Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou this week condemned EU member states for delaying introduction of anti-discrimination laws.

European legislation banning discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability and sexual orientation was approved in 2000.

It required member states to introduce these provisions into national law before the end of this year and, in the case of racial discrimination, as soon as next month.

But Diamantopoulou says she is concerned about delays in transposition of the laws in some member states: "I want to send a clear message to EU governments: 'You must take the necessary action to put anti-discrimination in place'."

Her comments came as she announced a five-year, EU-wide information campaign aimed at informing people of their rights and obligations under the anti-discrimination laws.

The campaign, which will have the slogan "For Diversity - Against Discrimination", will promote diversity in the workplace and involves all stakeholders, including NGOs, public authorities and social partners. It will be tailored to the specific situation in each member state, Diamantopoulou said.

The Greek also expressed concern about the findings of a Eurobarometer survey in which 16,000 people from across Europe were asked their views about discrimination. The results, she said, showed that despite most people being firmly opposed to discrimination, it remained a feature of daily life.

"A majority of people think that, with equal qualifications, an older candidate, a gay candidate, a black candidate, a candidate with disability, would have less chance of getting a job or a promotion," she says.

The survey's findings include:

• More than half thought that ethnic minorities, older people and the disabled are disadvantaged in the labour market even when they have the same qualifications as other applicants;
• more than a fifth had witnessed discrimination on ethnic grounds, ranging from between 15% in Ireland to 35% in the Netherlands. Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and age is rare;
• the majority oppose discrimination on all grounds, with the highest scores in Spain (89%), Luxembourg (88%) and the UK (87%);
• only one-in-three know their rights were they to experience discrimination. Belgians (26%) are the least likely to know their rights while the most informed are the Finns (70%) and Greeks (53%), and;
• seven out of ten said they would complain if discriminated against in restaurants and shops. This varied from 60% in Austria to 81% in Sweden.

Despite being approved in 2000, new EU anti-discrimination laws have still yet to be transposed into national law in many EU Member States.