EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES : MEDIOCRE PROGRESS IN REDUCING DISCRIMINATION.

The European Commission has unveiled its latest progress report on the EU action programme in the fight against discrimination which highlight the "significant" yet unequal "progress" in terms of awareness and reinforcing the capabilities of the key players.

Based on proposals tabled by the Commission back in 1999, the Council in 2000 adopted three key instruments to combat the different forms of discrimination (ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation). These took the form of two Directives and a Decision establishing a Community action programme for which the Commission presented its assessment report. With a budget of 105.9 million over 6 years, the programme is meant to "support and complement efforts in the member states".

The results for the first section of the programme are generally satisfying. The various actions have led to a greater understanding of discrimination against various categories of society and to rectify some of the shortcomings, both in terms of understanding the different phenomenons and in implementing anti-discrimination policies.

The results in section 2 are somewhat less satisfactory. While the programme provided for "significant developent in terms of capabilitiers of the key organisationsin the sector", the efficiency of the actions undertaken was not of the same level. The effect was even less in actions which involved several member states. The 27 first-generation cross-border actions which...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT