Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-04-Speech-2-295"
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"en.20070904.25.2-295"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, 10 years after the inclusion of Article 13 in the EC Treaty we have made important progress in making sure that all citizens of the European Union are protected from discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin or sexual orientation, among other things. However, this protection is not yet complete, nor have we yet the real ‘equality’ mentioned by the honourable Member.
All the Member States must abide by the so-called Racial Equality Directive and Employment Equality Directive and it is the task of the European Union to monitor the correct transposition of both Directives into national legislation and their effective application. Consequently, on 27 June 2007 the Commission issued Reasoned Opinions to 14 Member States that have not transposed Directive 2000/43/EC correctly.
I want to state that the factual grounds that gave rise to these reasoned opinions vary of course from country to country as does their gravity. In any event, 14 states have received these reasoned opinions.
2007 is the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All and it has given the public authorities and civil society an incentive to organise actions and campaigns focusing on the benefits of diversity and non-discrimination.
The fight against discrimination must constantly be at the forefront of our mind. In 2008 the Commission will submit proposals for the European Year of Equal Opportunities follow-up programmes: these may contain measures for finalising the framework of anti-discrimination legislation. An on-line consultation that was launched in July and will last until mid-October forms part of preparations for assessing the corresponding impact.
I would also like to state that the Commission rejects all forms of homophobia and promotes a society based on tolerance and respect. It welcomed the European Parliament resolution of 26 April 2007 on homophobia in Europe. In this context the Commission regrets that local authorities did not grant the necessary permissions for the truck promoting diversity in Europe to visit Vilnius on 25 May as had been planned, and banned the accompanying gay parade. The Commission also regrets that the participants in the march for diversity during the Romanian GayFest 2007 festival on 11 June (which received moral support and used the European Year logo) were intimidated by extremist groups and needed police protection.
The Racial Equality Directive I mentioned earlier prevents discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin. I would like to stress that this applies in full to the Roma as well.
Furthermore, the Commission is of the opinion that in order to be applied properly, the EU legislation must be complemented by information campaigns that would inform the Roma of their rights, and by events that will inform the general public about the rights and duties resulting from the anti-discrimination law. In 2007, the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, events focusing on the Roma are taking place in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Finland and Slovakia.
Actions aimed at combating discrimination against the Roma are also financed under the auspices of the European Social Fund and PROGRESS 2007–2013, a programme for employment and social solidarity, which supports capacity-building among the Roma."@en1
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