La no discriminació és de fa temps un dels aspectes als quals dedico més atenció en la meva activitat europarlamentària. Actualment sóc ponent de la Directiva sobre Igualtat de Tracte indiferentment de l'edat, religió o creences, orientació sexual o discapacitats més enllà de l'àmbit laboral. En vaig parlar en anteriors apunts (p.e. Si es greu patir una discriminació imagineu com és patir-ne diverses alhora). Prenc el relleu de la meva col.lega Kathalijne Buitenweg, dels GroenLinks, qui no va repetir com a eurodiputada. Ella va liderar en el PE l'informe sobre aquesta Directiva, quan era un tema dels anomenats 'de consulta', i va aconseguir un acord molt difícil, i gens menyspreable, entre les diferents sensibilitats polítiques, moltes d'elles clarament oposades. El tema va passar a la taula del Consell, on es troba ara. Amb el Tractat de Lisboa, el tema entra en la categoria de 'consent'. És a dir, que el PE haurà de ser consultat novament pel Consell quan tingui una proposta legislativa definitiva, i nosaltres haurem de dir si hi estem d'acord o no. No serà una gestió senzilla.
Avui fem el primer intercanvi d'opinions a la Comissió de Llibertats, Justícia i Interior (LIBE), amb la presència del Consell i la Comissió, en la qual se m'ha de concedir el mandat per liderar el debat en les discussions que tindrem, sobretot, amb el Consell. Serà un dels temes protagonistes de molts dels apunts que aniré penjant en les properes setmanes.
Per tal de fer una mica de memòria adjunto un breu text en què explico la situació, els antecedents i el per què d'aquesta Directiva: (segueix...)
Equal treatment
The
directive aims to bridge the gap in the field of anti-discrimination,
because not all grounds are equally protected. Currently the following
legislation is in place:
- Discrimination
based on race or ethnic origin is prohibited in the area of employment
and outside the labour market (for example when applying for a loan or
other goods/services)
- Discrimination
based on gender is prohibited in the same areas as above, but with the
exception of education and media/advertising
- Discrimination based on age, religion or belief, sexual orientation and disability is prohibited only on the labour market.
The
main objective of the directive is to extent the scope of the last
directive to an equivalent level of the race and gender directive.
The European Parliament has always been in favor of such a “horizontal” directive.
Last
year the European Commission finally tabled a proposal for a directive.
It includes all four grounds, but makes a distinction when appropriate.
For
example, equal treatment irrespective of disability requires a special
effort which is outlined in the proposal, and also limitations to that
effort are given, in order to avoid that equal treatment would cause a
disproportionate burden.
When
it comes to financial services (insurances etc) a difference in
treatment on the basis of age or handicap is allowed when this
difference is justified with objective facts. Not all differences made
are defined as discrimination.
The
directive was debated extensively in different committees in the
parliament. Four committees delivered opinions, and with the EMPL
committee the LIBE was involved in an enhanced procedure. More than 400
amendments have been tabled. After long negotiations 26 compromises
where agreed. They formed the basis of the vote in the LIBE committee
on March 16. The PPE, PSE, ALDE and Greens voted the package jointly.
The current compromise includes:
*
that all people should be treated equally, and with safeguards that are
in line with the other directives (equality body, shared burden of
proof in civil matters, etc)
*
clear exceptions for when a adaptation to ensure equal treatment
disregarding disability would be too costly, or would require a
fundamental alteration of the service provided;
* a phasing in period for adaptations of 10 years/ historical buildings might be excluded from adaptations;
* insurances
get the possibility to base their different premiums, not only on
actuarial principles or statistical data but also on the basis of
medical data;
* exception for publishers to refuse advertisements;
* attention for multiple discrimination, and in line with jurisprudence the grounds are extended to people who are assumed or associated with people that can face discrimination on the grounds mentioned;
*
directive does not apply to transactions between private individuals
for whom the transactions do not constitute a commercial or
professional activity;
Heavily
debated was the matter of marital law, family status and reproductive
rights. Would this fall under the directive or not? Compromise is an
assurance that the directive does not alter the division of competences
between the European Union and its member states, so that for example
the decision on who can have access to marriage falls outside the scope.
I hope that also in plenary we can keep this cooperative spirit.
(NOTE: many thanks to Cristine Sidenius, our adviser for LIBE issues, for this text)
Foto: Campanya Your Health. Your Say. dedicada a dones lesbianes i bisexuals. Font: PinkNews.
