Rights and Obligations under European Anti-Discrimination Legislation

"The Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms…principles which are common to the Member States." Article 6(1) Treaty on European Union.

The European Community has long been active in the fight against discrimination. Indeed, at the time of its creation one of its most pressing missions was to reconcile a continent divided by nationalistic and ethnic conflicts. For many years the focus was on preventing discrimination on the grounds of nationality and sex discrimination. 1997 was a major turning point when the Member States agreed to some far reaching changes to the Treaty. Following the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty, the Community was given new powers to combat discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation, and the power to combat sex discrimination was widened. In the year 2000, the Council unanimously adopted two Directives and the Community Action Programme.

The Racial Equality Directive 2000/43/EC 
Download PDF (116 KB)

The Employment Equality Directive 2000/78/EC 
Download PD (124 KB)

The Directives at a Glance

The Racial Equality Directive 2000/43/EC

• Implements the principle of equal treatment between people irrespective of racial or ethnic origin.
• Gives protection against discrimination in employment and training, education, social security, healthcare and access to goods and services.
• Contains definitions of direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
• Gives victims of discrimination a right to make a complaint through a judicial or administrative procedure, associated with appropriate penalties for those who discriminate.
• Shares the burden of proof between the complainant and the respondent in civil and administrative cases.
• Provides for the establishment in each Member State of an organisation to promote equal treatment and provide independent assistance to victims of racial discrimination.

The Employment Equality Directive 2000/78/EC

• Implements the principle of equal treatment in employment and training irrespective of religion or belief, sexual orientation and age in employment and training.
• Includes identical provisions to the Racial Equality Directive on definitions of discrimination, rights of legal redress and the sharing of the burden of proof
• Requires employers to make reasonable accommodation to cater for the needs of a person with a disability who is qualified to do the job in question.
• Allows for limited exceptions to the principle of equal treatment, for example to preserve the ethos of religious organisations or to allow special schemes to promote the integration of older or younger workers into the labour market.

The rules have to be incorporated into national law by the Member States. The deadline for incorporating the rules on racial equality is 19 July 2003. The deadline for the rules on sexual orientation, religion or belief, disability and age is 2 December 2003. The Member States may also request an additional period of up to three years to bring their legal systems into line with the provisions on disability and age.