Introduction to EU Anti-discrimination Law

The Race Directive (2000/43/EC) and the Framework Directive (2000/78/EC) were developed pursuant to the powers relating to anti-discrimination under the Amsterdam Treaty and both agreed in 2000. All EU Member States were required to implement through appropriate laws and regulations the Race Directive by 19 July 2003 and the Framework Directive by 2 December 2003. In relation to the Framework Directive, Member States were also given the option if necessary to implement provisions relating to disability and age discrimination by 2 December 2006.

The two Directives differ in terms of both the groups that they protect from discrimination, as well as the scope of the sectors in which discrimination is prohibited.

The Race Directive provides protection from discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin. This includes protection for third country nationals, but does not extend to protection for discrimination based on nationality. This exception relates to immigration policy and Member States desire to retain control over such policy.

In terms of the scope of sectors in which racial discrimination is prohibited, the Race Directive provides the broadest protection of any of the protected groups at EU level. It prohibits discrimination in employment, occupation and related areas, social protection including social security and healthcare, social advantages, education, and access to and supply of goods and services available to the public including housing.

The Framework Directive provides for protection from discrimination for a much broader range of groups than the Race Directive as it protects groups identified by religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability and age. However, in contrast to the Race Directive, the Framework Directive is much more restrictive in its scope of sectors where discrimination is prohibited. It only applies to the fields of employment, occupation and related areas such as vocational training and membership of workers organisations.

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All Member States must implement all the provisions of the Directives, and must not regress from those levels of protection. In addition, it is important to note that both the Race and Framework Directives lay down minimum requirements in terms of protection in those fields. Member States are free to and in many cases have developed national legislation that goes further than the requirements of the Directives.

It is also important to point out that in 2008 the European Commission proposed a new Equality Directive that would expand and harmonise protection from discrimination on grounds of disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, and age. This was intended to expand on the protection provided in the Framework Directive and ensure that those groups have the same or similar levels of protection as groups identified by race and gender.

The proposed directive sought to prohibit discrimination in both the public and private sectors in relation to: social protection, including social security and healthcare; social advantages; education; and access to and supply of goods and other services which are available to the public, including housing. The proposed scope of protection is therefore similar to the Race Directive.

The proposal is still before the Council as it has not been possible to date to secure unanimous agreement of all EU Member States. You can review the original proposal here.

End of the «hierarchy of grounds»?

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