On Tuesday 14 July, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) organised a public hearing on the proposal for a directive on equal treatment, which has been blocked in the Council of the EU for 18 years (see EUROPE 13898/16). While the various experts and representatives of the European Union supported its adoption, they are also of the opinion that it was essential to apply existing European legislation in a better manner in order to combat discrimination.
European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib noted that the European Commission had decided last year to maintain this proposal (see EUROPE 13687/20), welcoming the support of the European Parliament as well as that of a majority of Member States.
According to the Commissioner, “closing the remaining gaps in the European Union’s anti-discrimination framework is not simply necessary”, but “something that should have happened a long time ago”.
Ana Carla Pereira, head of the Equality and Non-Discrimination unit at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice, said that, without implementation of the text, “words remain dead letters and victims have no redress”.
She cited sanctions that are “often too weak”, a lack of information for victims about their rights, as well as the emergence of discrimination linked to algorithms and artificial intelligence.
In addition, the European Commission will assess the transposition of the directives relating to bodies responsible for equality, the deadline for which expired on 19 June.
Richard Quilliam, attaché for Equality and Children’s Rights at Ireland’s Permanent Representation to the European Union, acknowledged on behalf of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union that “unanimity was not within reach” and that the Presidency did “not have a magic wand”.
He nevertheless stated that they would continue discussions at technical and political level.
Lastly, Katalin Ádámis-Császár, Principal Deputy Director at the Milieu Law and Policy Consulting firm, presented a study commissioned by the European Parliament showing that the directive’s objectives “cannot be sufficiently achieved by Member States acting alone” and that its adoption would make it possible to complete the European framework for protection against discrimination. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)