Background to the Directives on Racial Equality and Equality in Employment

The EU directives combating discrimination follow directly from the Treaty of Amsterdam and were unanimously agreed by the EU governments within 18 months of the Treaty entering into force in May 1999.

The Treaty, which sets out the principles and objectives of the European Union, affirms that: ‘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.’ It emphasises the fundamental importance of non-discrimination and extends this principle to other areas in addition to nationality and equal pay for men and women, which were dealt with before. In particular, it gave the European Union powers to take action against discrimination on a range of grounds.

These powers are set out in Article 13: ‘Without prejudice to the other provisions of this Treaty, and within the limits of the powers conferred by it upon the Community, the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, and after consulting the European Parliament, may take appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.’

Motivation behind the Directives on Racial Equality and Equality in Employment

The basic principle underlying the directives is that everyone should be entitled to be treated equally and fairly. A primary responsibility of the EU is to defend this fundamental human right. As both directives make clear, this is essential if the EU is to develop as "an area of freedom, security and justice." It is also essential if the parallel principle of ensuring equality of opportunity is to be maintained and if everyone is to be given an equal chance of realising their potential and of achieving what they are capable of.

This, in turn, is important if the wider aims of the EU are to be achieved. According to the directives, discrimination can "undermine the achievement of the objectives of the EC Treaty, in particular the attainment of a high level of employment and of social protection, the raising of the standard of living and quality of life, economic and social cohesion and solidarity." It can also jeopardise the aims of the European employment strategy which are to foster "a labour market favourable to social integration’ and to support ‘older workers, in order to increase their participation in the labour force."