On Monday 1 December, the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union took note of the persistent blocking by three Member States – Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic – of the proposal for a directive to combat discrimination in the EU (see EUROPE 13721/20).
“The European Union should lead by example,” lamented the Danish Minister for Social Affairs, Sophie Hæstorp Andersen. She indicated that in the second half of 2025, her country had tried to identify and delimit the stumbling blocks preventing a unanimous agreement in the EU Council.
According to the European Commissioner for Equality, Hadja Lahbib, the concerns expressed by the three Member States opposing a political agreement in principle concern “the extent of social protection and education, the financial impact linked to housing and issues relating to decentralised powers” in the Member States. She called on the countries concerned to propose solutions instead of opposing the compromise on the table.
On behalf of some twenty countries, Sweden emphasised the broad support in the EU Council for the proposed directive.
Cyprus, which will hold the EU Council Presidency from January, reiterated its “long-standing” support for the legislative initiative, promising to act as an “honest broker” to try and resolve concerns.
See the Danish Presidency’s progress report: https://aeur.eu/f/jse (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)