The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) continues to be concerned about rising inequalities and harassment in the EU. In its 2019 report on fundamental rights, published on Thursday 6 June, it reported mixed progress on equality and non-discrimination.
“Fundamental rights alarm bells are ringing across the EU as inequalities, harassment and prejudices continue to grow”, said FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty in a statement accompanying the report.
The report highlights that people from minority backgrounds and migrants continue to face widespread harassment, discrimination, entrenched prejudice and discriminatory ethnic profiling throughout the EU.
The FRA first points out the responsibility of the EU Member States and says they should all develop national action plans to fight racism and racial discrimination. In 2018, only 15 Member States had national action plans, the FRA regrets. In addition, several Member States have not yet correctly and fully transposed into national law the EU Framework Decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia.
The report also notes mixed progress in 2018 on EU legal and policy instruments to promote equality and non-discrimination. It explains that the EU legal framework currently offers protection against discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation only in the area of employment and occupation.
After more than ten years of negotiations, the EU Council has still not adopted the Equal Treatment Directive (see EUROPE 11217/7), which would extend this protection to the areas of education, social protection and access to and supply of goods and services, including housing, the FRA stresses.
For the Agency, the result is de facto an “artificial hierarchy of grounds within the EU”, with some of them more protected than others. “In view of the overwhelming evidence of discrimination on different grounds (...) the EU legislator should step up efforts to adopt the Equal Treatment Directive” writes the Agency.
The report is available at the following address: https://bit.ly/31f1MlH (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)