Brussels, 10/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 5 June, the European Commission sent reasoned opinions to Estonia and Finland to fully implement EU rules prohibiting discrimination in employment and occupation on the grounds of sex (directive 2002/73/EC), a press release says. The main problem areas set out by the Commission are:
Estonia: (1) incorrect transposition of the definitions of “harassment” and “sexual harassment”; (2) failure to correctly transpose the article on genuine and determining occupational requirement - a general prohibition to employ women for heavy or other particular types of work is a discriminatory treatment since there is no justification that such works pose a specific risk for the biological disposition of women; (3) insufficiency of the legal provision on discrimination related to pregnancy, i.e. the right to return to the previous or an equivalent post and to benefit from any improvement in working conditions to which she would be entitled during her absence; (4) absence of a legal provision prohibiting discrimination in relation to membership of, and involvement in, an organisation of workers or employers, or any organisation whose members carry on a particular profession.
Finland: definition of “harassment” and “sexual harassment”: the Commission considers that Finnish legislation does not provide a full, abstract, legal definition of harassment and sexual harassment: a sufficiently precise and clear legal definition is a prerequisite for individuals to fully understand their rights, the Commission points out, repeating the view of the Court of Justice; (2) the rules on compensation and reparation: the Commission remains of the opinion that to ensure real and effective compensation or reparation measures, fixing a general upper limit should not be permitted, the Finnish Equality Act is, thus, not in line with the explicit requirements of the directive, the Commission concludes.
In its press release, the Commission points out that the two states now have two months to respond. If they fail to reply or if the response is unsatisfactory, the Commission can decide to take them to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The deadline for transposing the Directive into national law was 5 October 2005. For information, go to: http: //ec/europa.eu/employment_social/gender_equality/ legislation/index_en.html (G.B./transl. rt)