Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-07-Speech-2-294"
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"en.20050607.27.2-294"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would first like to thank Mr Moraes for his excellent report and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Employment for their invaluable contributions.
As the President, Mr Barroso, has confirmed, a group of Commissioners dealing with fundamental rights, anti-discrimination and equal opportunities will consider this question at a future meeting.
The promotion of fundamental rights and the fight against discrimination and for equal opportunities are a priority for the European Commission. At his own initiative, the President of the Commission, Mr Barroso, established a group of Commissioners that is to develop the European Union’s policy agenda in these areas. Your report, Mr Moraes, has drawn to our attention the need for further steps to solve the problems of discrimination and the situation of minorities in the European Union. The Commission shares a number of fears mentioned by Mr Moraes and other Members of Parliament.
Today, the European Union’s anti-discrimination regulations are among the most advanced in the world. Two significant directives were adopted in 2000, which ban discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin, religious belief or conviction, age, disability or sexual orientation. These directives extended the broad range of Community regulations in the area of discrimination on the basis of gender.
As your report correctly noted, our main task will now be to ensure that these regulations work effectively throughout the whole of the enlarged Europe; in other words, that the process of implementing the regulations must be concluded at national level. Certain Member States have, however, failed to meet the deadlines set. The Commission takes its role as a guardian of the Treaties in this area very seriously, and has on a number of occasions taken action against Member States for failing to meet their obligations.
We must similarly ensure that people are aware of their rights, and that they are able to derive full benefit from them. Awareness-raising is a priority for the Commission, and we therefore propose that the European Union designate 2007 as being the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. This European Year will be an important opportunity to mobilise all participants and to emphasise the benefits of European diversity for the economy as well as for society as a whole. I hope that we shall be able to rely on the support of the European Parliament for this proposal, and on your active participation in this European year.
In 2004, the European Commission carried out a broad public consultation on the Green Paper on equality and non-discrimination in an enlarged European Union. National bodies, organisations concerned with equality, non-governmental organisations, social partners and the general public sent more than 1 500 reactions. We are very pleased that we can take into account the opinions and reactions of the European Parliament in the questions considered in the Green Paper.
With regard to the Green Paper, the Commission adopted an announcement on non-discrimination and equal rights for all. This announcement describes a framework strategy for future activities in this area. This strategy goes beyond merely protecting the rights of individuals, and explores how the European Union can promote positive measures to support the integration of social groups facing considerable structural obstacles to their participation in society.
The Commission will also assess the potential impact and workability of new measures to complement existing European Union regulations in the fight against discrimination. This study will take account of the relative benefits of legislative and non-legislative measures and the costs and benefits of various alternative policies, as well as the need to take care not to open a discussion on the existing legal framework, which might weaken the current level of protection against discrimination.
The Commission is in particular worried about the unusually serious situation concerning the exclusion of and discrimination against Roma communities throughout the European Union, including in the accession and candidate countries. The European Union is now trying to resolve these issues, for example, by using its anti-discrimination legislation and the targeted use of the European Union’s financial resources. This is an area in which the Union cannot act alone, however. A joint effort of international organisations, Member States’ national bodies, and representatives of citizens’ groups is needed. However, I agree that we should evaluate the most effective way of using the Union’s policies and policy programmes to support the inclusion of the Roma."@en1
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