Brussels, 20/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 17 January, the European Commission indicated that all EU member states had now transposed the European directives on tackling discrimination based on race, ethnic origin, religion, belief, disability, age and sexual orientation into their respective national legislations. The directive on equality in employment and the directive on racial equality that were adopted in 2000 were designed to tackle the different discrimination in these areas.
The Commission stated: “It's good news that these EU directives are now national law in all 28 EU countries. However, today's report highlights that national authorities still need to make sure they provide effective protection to victims of discrimination on the ground. Key challenges include a lack of public awareness of rights and underreporting of discrimination cases”.
The Commission is therefore urging the member states to “continue to raise public awareness of anti-discrimination rights and focus efforts on those most at risk, involving employers and trade unions”. The Commission also says that they need to “facilitate reporting of discrimination for victims by improving access to complaints mechanisms” and ensure that the victims of discrimination have access to legal assistance and “address the specific discrimination faced by Roma”. (SP/transl.fl)