After more than a year’s absence from the EU Council’s agenda, the draft directive on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment (see EUROPE 12701/27) was discussed once again on Monday 14 June by the Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs.
The Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU has proposed a series of amendments to delegations aimed at clarifying the provisions on subsidiarity, legal certainty and the costs of disability-related measures.
On the first point, for example, the changes are designed to ensure that the EU does not interfere with education systems or family law.
EU Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli welcomed the fact that a “large majority of Member States” had welcomed the proposals.
Belgium, Estonia, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, Italy, France, Greece, Malta and Sweden took the floor in turn at the meeting to praise the efforts of the Portuguese Presidency. All of them expressed the hope that the negotiations would be concluded quickly.
Portuguese Minister of State Mariana Vieira da Silva, who chaired the meeting, suggested that there was still a long way to go before unanimity was reached. This dossier has been in the hands of the EU Council since 2008. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)