Brussels, 17/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - During its General Affairs session of 13 December, the EU Council unanimously adopted, without debate and on the basis of Article 13 of the Treaty, the directive on equal treatment between men and women in areas other than in the workplace, and for access to and the provision of goods and services. The decision complies with the political agreement reached within the Employment and Social Policy Council of 4 October in Luxembourg (EUROPE of 6 October, p.12).
Gender discrimination occurs not only in the workplace - where Community legislation already combats gender discrimination - but also in many other areas. Under the directive adopted on 13 December, the ban on discrimination will therefore apply to persons providing goods and services available to the public outside the area of private and family life. Media and advertising content, and public and private education are excluded from the scope of the directive.
The directive, which has caused considerable criticism in the insurance sector, among others, had been proposed in November 2003 by the then European Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou (see EUROPE of 5-6 November 2003). The directive will apply to both direct and indirect discrimination, including sexual harassment. It above all stipulates that: 1) Less favourable treatment of women for reasons of pregnancy or maternity will be considered as direct discrimination and therefore prohibited (EUROPE of 5 October, p.13); 2) differences in treatment may be accepted only if they are justified by a legitimate aim, such as the protection of victims of gender-related violence, reasons of privacy and decency, the promotion of gender equality, the freedom of association, or the organisation of single-sex sporting activities; 3) its scope includes insurance and related financial activities, as long as they are private, voluntary and separate from the employment relationship. Equal treatment is the guiding principle and therefore the use of gender as an actuarial factor should not result in differences in individuals' premiums and benefits. In order to avoid a sudden readjustment of the market, implementation of this rule will apply only to new contracts concluded after the date of transposition of this directive. Nonetheless, Member States may permit proportionate differences in individuals' premiums and benefits where gender is used as a factor to determine risk assessment. Any difference in treatment must be based on relevant and accurate actuarial and statistical data that has to be made public and regularly updated. The use of these exceptions will be subject to review by both the Commission and by Member States.