IP/02/1372

Brussels, 26 September, 2002

Social Affairs : Commission welcomes new study on antidiscrimination bodies

A new study undertaken for the European Commission of national institutions to promote equality points to the need to establish bodies with clear terms of reference, with adequate and predictable sources of funding and which deal with equality across the board, rather than with single issues. The study, published today by the Commission, highlights the strengths and weaknesses of existing institutions and encourages Governments to ensure that their institutions have the resources – and the independence – they need to fight discrimination effectively. All Member States are required to designate such bodies by July 2003 under recently adopted EU equality law.

"National Equality Bodies are a vital tool to support citizens' rights and governments must make sure that they are strong enough to resist interference in their work and well enough endowed to do their job properly" said Anna Diamantopoulou, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs.

The study – "Specialised bodies to promote equality and/or combat discrimination" – was carried out for the Commission by an independent contractor under the European Community Action Programme to combat discrimination, which is part of a package of measures to promote equality adopted by the Council in 2000 (see annex).  The study presents an analysis and examples of the experiences of twenty one existing bodies for the promotion of equality and fighting discrimination from across the EU, drawing on examples from twelve Member States.  It also gives information on how a range of existing bodies have been set up and makes recommendations to the Member States for the future. Among the principal findings are that:

-       the independence of the institution should be guaranteed by statute and a clear mandate

-       financial resources should be granted in the annual budget in order to ensure continuity and independence

-       the political role of the institution should be formalised in order for its expertise to be included in legislative initiatives and in reviews of legislation

-       an integrated approach to the different grounds of discrimination within a single equality body has advantages in terms of legal coherence, consistency and clarity about citizens' rights

-       assistance should be provided for free, both to victims and witnesses of discrimination and the bodies should be allowed to take up more general cases to raise issues of common concern

-       the bodies should carry out surveys to analyse the actual level of discrimination and problems regarding equal treatment.

Further details of the report can be found at

http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/fundamri/news_en.htm .

Annex

-       The European Community Action Programme to combat discrimination (2001-2006) was established by Council Decision 2000/750/EC of 27 November 2000 under Article 13 of the Treaty establishing the European Community. It has a budget of just under € 100 million and is designed to support the efforts of the Member States to promote equality and combat discrimination on the grounds of racial and ethnic origin, religion and belief, disability, age and sexual orientation

-       The anti-discrimination package adopted by the EU's Council of Ministers in 2000 is made up of:

-       Council Directive 2000/43/EC implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin .  Under this Directive the Member States are required to establish by 19 July 2003 a body for the promotion of equal treatment irrespective of racial or ethnic origin.

-       Council Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (on the grounds of religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation).

-       The Community Action Programme (above).

-       The bodies covered by the study are:

Bodies highlighted in bold are covered in the report as special case studies.

Belgium	Centre for Equal Opportunities and the Fight Against Racism (Centrum voor gelijkheid van kansen en voor racismebestrijding, Centre pour l'égalité des chances et la lutte contre le racisme, CECLR)
Germany	The Commissioner for Foreigners' Affairs of the Berlin Senate (Die Ausländerbeauftragte des Senats von Berlin)
Denmark	1. The Board for Ethnic Equality [1] (Nævnet for Etnisk Ligestilling) 2. The Advisory and Documentation Centre on Racial Discrimination (Dokumentations- og Rådgivningscenteret for racediskrimination, DRC-DK)
France	1. Regional Citizenship Commissions (Commissions Départementales d'accès à la citoyenneté, CODAC) 2. Group to study and combat  Discrimination (Groupe d’Etude et de Lutte contre les discriminations, GELD)
Ireland	1. Equality Authority 2. Office of the Director of Equality Investigations (ODEI)
Italy	Commission for Integration Policies [2] (Commissione per le Politiche di Integrazione)
Luxembourg	Special Commission against Racial Discrimination (Commission spéciale contre la discrimination raciale, CSP-RAC)
Netherlands	1. Equal Treatment Commission (Commissie gelijke behandeling) 2. Expertise Centre Age and Society (Expertisecentrum Leeftijd en Maatschappij, LBL) 3. National Bureau against Racial Discrimination (Landelijk Bureau ter bestrijding van Rassendiscriminatie, LBR)
Portugal:	Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination [3] (Comissão para a Igualdade e contra a Discriminação Racial)
Sweden	1. Disability Ombudsman (Handikappombudsmannen, HO) 2. Ombudsman against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation (Ombudsmannen mot diskriminering på grund av sexuell läggning, HomO) 3. The Ombudsman against ethnic discrimination (Ombudsmannen mot etnisk discrimination)
Finland:	The Ombudsman for Minorities
United Kingdom	1. Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) 2. Disability Rights Commission (DRC) 3. Equality Commission for Northern Ireland

No bodies dealing with discrimination on the grounds covered by the EC Action Programme (racial and ethnic origin, religion and belief, disability, age and sexual orientation) have been identified in Greece, Austria or Spain at this stage.