Mr President, the directive and the Action Programme on equal treatment bear witness both to a policy which is based on principles and to a practical policy. Indeed, equal treatment is a fundamental constitutional right which forms one of the cornerstones of the European Union. They also form part of a practical policy because directives and action programmes encourage the Member States to fight discrimination on the basis of the same guiding principles and because the Commission can fulfil its role as Guardian of the Treaties but also as a pioneer in the social debate. The above also highlights the link between both instruments, the directive and the Action Programme. Not only do the social activities which underpin the social programme complement the directive’s legal framework, they also need to generate the extra information, the expertise and the support structure to complement and improve this legal framework. I hope to illustrate the need for this in the rest of my speech. The two proposals which the European Parliament is discussing today are both based on Article 13 of the EC Treaty. This Article 13 has now taken on a central role in the equal treatment framework of the European Union. It thus follows in the footsteps of the current Article 141, formerly Article 119, which lay – and still lies – at the basis of European legislation to combat sex discrimination. There are, however, major differences. First of all, we are dealing with a different decision-making procedure involving the European Parliament which, with regard to the implementation of Article 13, cannot yet fulfil its role of co-legislator. Secondly, a whole raft of pieces of legislation has now been drafted concerning the equal treatment of men and women, the oldest dating back 25 years. An overhaul of this legislation is therefore overdue. This summer, the Council adopted a directive to combat discrimination on the basis of race or ethnic origin. This directive provides a higher level of protection, and is wider in scope, than both existing equal treatment legislation on men and women and the draft directive which we are discussing here today. We in the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs have always argued that this fragmented approach gives the wrong political signal, as if there might be some sort of hierarchy in discrimination. A patchwork of anti-discrimination rules also has a detrimental effect when it comes to drafting coherent legislation and also forms a threat to what has been achieved in European equal treatment theory. I am delighted that this viewpoint has been taken on board by the rapporteur. I would therefore like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Mr Mann for his open attitude and for the constructive consultation we have entered into. Partly thanks to this, we now have a large number of legal, technical amendments before us which aim to guarantee a level of equal protection against discrimination on the basis of race on the one hand and on the basis of religion, handicap, age and sexual orientation on the other. This touches on topics such as indirect discrimination, harassment, positive action, burden of proof, etc. The role of the so-called independent monitoring body is also called into question. As already stated, the level of protection concerning the fight against sex discrimination should also be brought into line with the highest standard. This is the gist of the directive against race discrimination which was adopted recently. Fortunately, the Commission has provided for this by submitting its proposal for reparative legislation. The European Parliament, in its role of co-legislator, will be able to get its teeth into this shortly. I would at this stage like to offer my services to the appointed rapporteur, Mrs Hautala, in this respect. The current picture is also fragmented in terms of scope or area of application. The directive on race discrimination has the widest scope, and mainly applies to social life outside the labour market. The existing set of directives concerning sex discrimination pertains to labour, remuneration and social security, whilst the current measures against discrimination on the other grounds specified in Article 13 apply to a much narrower area. I am delighted that the Commission pledged its willingness this summer to compile a draft directive also to combat sex discrimination outside the employment sphere, but I cannot understand why such an announcement for the other grounds of discrimination has not yet been forthcoming. This is the background to Amendments Nos 19 and 35, which contain a horizon provision ... (The President cut the speaker off)

Political group: PSE