Awaiting committee decision
2012/2324(INI) Implementation of Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation
Lead committee dossier: EMPL/7/11513
Legal Basis RoP 048
| Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | EMPL | KÓSA Ádám (EPP) | CLIVETI Minodora (S&D) |
| Opinion | LIBE | ROMEVA I RUEDA Raül (Verts/ALE) |
Legal Basis RoP 048
Subjects
Activites
| Amendments | Dossier |
| 77 |
2012/2324(INI)
2013/06/10
LIBE
22 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Paragraph -1 (new) -1. Asks the Commission and the Member States, in accordance with the rising number of case-law of ECJ on the Directive and the increasing number of claims on discrimination in the field of employment, in spite of the Directive being in force for more than 10 years, to step up monitoring of the proper implementation of and respect for the labour legislation, including the principle of non-discrimination; furthermore asks the Commission, in accordance with the findings of Member States and the Commission itself, to revise the Directive accordingly;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Deplores the Member States' lack of political will, the lack of transparency in the negotiation process within the Council, and the abuse of the unanimity principle by opposing Member States; recalls that it has called upon the Council to adopt the proposal for a directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3 a. Calls on the Member States to improve access to effective and independent justice and non-judicial mechanisms in relation to discrimination in the workplace and recalls that serious shortcomings were also reported by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in this regard in its report on Access to justice in cases of discrimination in the EU;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3 a. Is concerned by the attitudes of some Member States which openly voiced intolerance to the mobility of EU workers, targeted to undermine the rights of workers from some new Member States;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new) 3 b. Deems it necessary to regularly assess Member States' compliance with the Directive and any potential anti- discrimination legislation;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new) 3 b. Calls on the Commission to closely monitor the implementation of Directive 2004/38/EC and make sure that proposing changes to national legislation as regards the rights of EU citizens to reside and work freely throughout the UE, do not lead to the infringement of this Directive;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 c (new) 3 c. Calls on the Commission to prevent and condemn the intolerance that persists in the behaviour of some European citizens, judicial entities and governments as regards free movement of workers and their equal treatment and access to employment;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 d (new) 3 d. Considers that labour restrictions inside the EU aimed at avoiding the movement of large numbers of workers from the new Member States to some of the older Member States can, in the long term, have a negative impact on such fundamental European values as freedom of movement, non-discrimination and solidarity, equal rights and bringing the EU closer to its citizens;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 e (new) 3 e. Stresses the importance of rejecting applications for employment in labour market sectors for which the access to workers from other Member States is restricted; calls on the Commission to encourage the Member States to review the provisions regulating the access to the different employment sectors of their labour markets in order to eliminate the differences between European citizens in this field;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4 a. Takes into account the recent EU LGBT survey by the Fundamental Rights Agency according to which 20% of the respondents who were employed and/or looking for a job in the 12 months preceding the survey felt discriminated against and 32% of the respondents felt discriminated against in areas of life outside employment;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4 b. Stresses that some Member States do not only oppose the Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation but even institutionalise discrimination by law, thus acting in contravention of the spirit of the EU treaties;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 c (new) 4 c. Points out that discrimination in employment on grounds of religion or belief is widespread in many Member States, notably in education and public health, leading to unacceptable restrictions of workers' rights;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Stresses that in the EU an individual is not protected outside the workplace against discrimination on the grounds of
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Considers it regrettable that the idea that human rights are universal, indivisible and interrelated is a principle of law that remains more theory than practice, given that different aspects of human identity are treated separately in existing EU legal instruments;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Considers it regrettable that the idea that human rights are universal, indivisible and interrelated is a principle of law that remains more theory than practice, given that different aspects of human identity are treated separately in existing EU legal instruments; stresses that discrimination and hate do not manifest themselves separately, that human rights are indivisible, that our identities are plural and that we cannot split rights or indeed ourselves; emphasises that
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2 a. Takes the view that discrimination in the field of employment and occupation often concerns a group of employees rather than individuals, therefore the possibility of collective redress could be a more efficient solution;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2 a. Considers that awareness raising on EU antidiscrimination legislation in the field of employment has not been sufficient, with rights awareness in the area of discrimination very low amongst EU citizens; takes the view that it is important to continue developing awareness-raising activities by national and local authorities and equality bodies and organisations and to discuss the possibility of the development of coordination actions at an EU level including strategies, frameworks or roadmaps;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 b (new) 2 b. Calls on the Commission to propose a horizontal framework on collective redress, as was foreseen in its 2012 Work programme, which enables a group of citizens who are victims of the same discrimination to submit a collective claim, as individual lawsuits may not constitute an effective means of stopping unlawful practices or obtaining compensation, while also taking into account its significant barriers in terms of accessibility, effectiveness and affordability;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 c (new) 2 c. Calls on the Commission to widen the grounds for non-discrimination of the Directive in accordance with the grounds established by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;
source: PE-513.261
2013/06/14
EMPL
55 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 1 a (new) – having regard to Article 1 of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, with special reference to the inviolability of human dignity, which is a universal human right, and having regard to the special sacrifice made by women who bear children, which is not comparable to other sacrifices, which they accept in the wider interests of society and which may irrevocably affect both their bodies and the progress of their careers due to discrimination against them on the labour market,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas, due to the financial and structural crisis in Europe, the level of unemployment among many groups, in particular young people, including those with disabilities or from marginalized communities, and older people is increasing with unacceptable speed, threatening social peace and solidarity in many countries;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Recital G G. whereas Union law
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Recital G G. whereas Union law does not cover discrimination effectively in most areas of Union competence with regard to the different grounds of discrimination and the diverse situations of the people concerned; whereas the different grounds of discrimination often intersect, most commonly with race and gender, and the preamble of Council Directive 2000/78/EC contains a reference to multiple discrimination;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution Recital H a (new) Ha. whereas mediation can provide a cost-effective and quick extra-judicial resolution of disputes, where processes are tailored to the needs of the parties, the agreements reached are more likely to be kept voluntarily and to bring about amicable and sustainable relationships between the parties, and can contribute to resolving cases of discrimination;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Recital H a (new) Ha. whereas, with regard to Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that the conducts like publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivialising crimes directed at groups of persons, or a member of such groups, defined by reference to religion or belief shall be punishable when such conducts are carried out in a manner likely to incite to violence or hatred against such groups or a member of such groups;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution Recital I I. whereas other distinguished studies and publications show
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution Recital I I. whereas other
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Notes that, while more in-depth analysis and robust, recent data are currently not available, the latest surveys on the perception of discrimination in the European Union confirm that discrimination in the field of employment is considered to be more widespread than in other areas of life8; calls on the Commission, in its report, to analyse in depth the shortcomings in the transposition of Directive 2000/78/EC in the Member States and to penalise those Member States which display no readiness to fully transpose the directive on protecting victims of discrimination;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Calls on the European Commission to revise the scope of the Directive for preventing and combating discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation as regards employment and occupation;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 b (new) 1b. Notes that the preliminary rulings referred to the European Court of Justice by national courts concern mainly age cases (nine judgements out of thirteen in total since the adoption of the Directive), the ground of age being generally assumed to be an objective characteristic with a natural meaning and hence not defined in national legislation;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 7 a (new) – having regard to Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 c (new) 1c. Emphasises that the European Court of Justice pointed out in case C-229/09 (Wolf v. Stadt Frankfurt am Main) relating to discrimination on grounds of age that, in order to examine whether the difference of treatment based on age in the national legislation at issue in the main proceedings is justified, it must be ascertained whether physical fitness is a characteristic related to age and whether it constitutes a genuine and determining occupational requirement for the occupational activities in question or for carrying them out, provided that the objective pursued by the legislation is legitimate and the requirement is proportionate;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 d (new) 1d. Recommends that the Member States comply with the fundamental norm of Union law of the principle of non- discrimination on grounds of age in national laws;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 e (new) 1 e. Calls on the Member States to adopt the necessary measures to boost youth employment with equal rights and protection, to provide quick training programs at the workplace, paid internships for young people and incentives for hiring people with disabilities, in order to prevent and combat discrimination in employment;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 f (new) 1 f. Underlines the necessity to combat discrimination on the labour market especially for older people, taking into account that above two thirds of Europeans (67%) believe that the economic crisis is contributing to more discrimination against older workers (those aged over 55);
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Reiterates that
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Reiterates that human rights serve the interests of all people
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Notes that the general principle of transfer of the burden of proof in favour of victims of discrimination, which is provided for in Directive 2000/78/EC, has not been fully transposed in all EU States; calls on the Commission, in its report, to undertake an in-depth analysis of the extent to which this principle has been transposed in the Member States and calls on the Commission to insist that Member States transpose it fully, or otherwise to consider the possibility of penalising Member States which refuse to transpose it fully;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Observes that, in some Member States, the possibility provided for in Directive 2000/78/EC for associations and organisations to engage in any judicial and/or administrative procedure or to support a victim of discrimination is only being transposed in a dilatory manner, which means that the protection of victims in the Directive is being implemented inadequately; calls on the Commission, in its report, to analyse precisely the issue of the involvement of associations and organisations and to report on it to the European Parliament;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 c (new) 4c. Calls on the social partners to do more to protect employees against discrimination in the workplace and in training, and to adopt stronger preventive measures to protect them against discrimination in employment;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Stresses the importance of the Council Conclusions of 21 February 2011 on intolerance, discrimination and violence on the basis of religion or belief and United Nations General Assembly resolution 66/167 on combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatisation of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief, and that, according to the FRA (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights)1, on the basis of official statistics, in one EU Member State in every four or five the level of hostility to religious conviction is already expressed in a manner so severe as to constitute a criminal offence which has a bearing on Article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights; __________________ 1 Making hate crime visible in the European Union: acknowledging victims' rights, 2012, p. 31
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 11 a (new) - having regard to its resolution of 21 October 2008 on monitoring the application of Community law – 24th annual report from the Commission (2008/2046(INI)),
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Calls on the European Commission to put forward proposals aimed to provide better protection against discrimination on the ground of gender identity in all areas of life, due to the existing gaps within the European Union's legislation against discrimination;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 b (new) 7b. Strongly condemns any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and holds that continuous and systematic efforts must be made in the EU in order to fight homophobia in society and to refrain from adopting laws that could have a negative impact on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 c (new) 7c. Strongly encourages the necessity of harassment protocols at sectoral and company level, which should include disciplinary sanctions for employees who violate personal dignity of other employees, creating environment degrading, intimidating, hostile, humiliating or offensive actions of discrimination, taking into account that 37% of people have been victims of harassment;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Notes the trends showing that racial or ethnic discrimination or discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief are more subject to publicity/ likely to be brought to courts; recommends that Member States should equally tackle all grounds stipulated by the Directive;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Recalls the recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Eweida and others v. the United Kingdom, where the Court declared that Ms Eweida enjoys the protection under Article 9 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and that her refusal to take off the cross from her neck at the workplace is in accordance with Article 9 § 1, which declares that freedom of religion also encompasses the freedom to manifest one's belief, alone and in private but also to practice in community with others and in public and that the manifestation of religious belief may take the form of worship, teaching, practice and observance.
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 b (new) 8b. Urges that the remedies and sanctions against discrimination must reflect the fundamental importance of the principle of equal treatment and they must also be applied in an effective manner so as to provide substantive protection for individuals against discrimination;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 c (new) 8c. Calls on the Member States to fully respect Articles 2, 3(1)(a) and (c), and 4 of the Directive when they find circumstances regarding a difference of treatment which could be justified where a characteristic related to religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation constitutes a genuine and determining occupational requirement, when the objective is legitimate and the requirement is proportionate;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 d (new) 8d. Calls on the Member States to respect treatment on grounds of religion or belief in employment as long as it is not the expression of extremist beliefs and behaviour;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 e (new) 8 e. Recalls the cases of teachers blocked from certain positions or even fired in faith schools because they are non- believers or of the 'wrong' faith or because of private acts like getting married with a divorce person, getting divorced or being treated with assisted reproduction techniques; stresses that this discrimination in employment on the grounds of religion and belief against teachers and other school staff is unreasonable and measures have to be taken in the framework of the implementation of the Directive;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Calls on the Member States to simplify legal proceedings because the legal framework is complex and procedures are unclear to the victims of discrimination, with lengthy procedures, high costs, absence of legal aid or support;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution Recital D D. whereas employment is the most important condition for social inclusion and independent living and the levels of unemployment among many groups, in particular young people,
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Urges that sanctions applicable to infringements of national provisions adopted pursuant to the transposition of Directive 2000/78/EC must be effective
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to ensure
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 a (new) 11a. Calls on the Member States to make intense efforts for eliminating discrimination based on religion or belief in the employment sector, to regulate clearly the right to manifest one's freedom of religion and belief at the workplace, and to introduce restrictions on this freedom only if public health, security or safety require that and the principle of proportionality is respected;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 a (new) 12a. Recalls that, according to a study published by the Fundamental Rights Agency on "The legal protection of person with mental health problems under non-discrimination law - Understanding disability as defined by law and the duty to provide reasonable accommodation in European Union Member States", based on Article 5 of Directive 2000/78/EC in particular some Member States have, in a wrong way, interpreted the term 'reasonable' to refer to an accommodation which does not result in excessive cost, difficulties or problems for the employer, and, in contrast, other Member States have rightly related this term to the quality of the accommodation; stresses that, however, the burden of proving reasonable accommodation shall not be disproportional;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 b (new) 12b. having regard to Paragraph 147 of the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2011 and on EU policy on the subject (2012/2145(INI)), which unambiguously states that freedom of religion or belief is inter-related with issues pertaining to recognition and equal citizenship and at the same time encourages the EU and calls on the European Commission to support efforts to combat discrimination, intolerance and violence on grounds of religion or belief, including supporting and financing initiatives to this end; __________________ 1 Texts adopted, P7_TA(2012)0503
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 a (new) 13a. Considers that research studies do not yield a comprehensive picture of discrimination in employment, as the findings are often not comparable at national level, let alone throughout the EU, as for example different studies combine different grounds for discrimination;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 b (new) 13b. Recommends that, in order to facilitate regular monitoring of discrimination in employment, it is necessary to harmonise the basic data to be entered in the registers of the Member States’ labour inspectorates;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 a (new) 14a. Reminds the Member States and the European Commission to foster inter- religious dialogue and reconciliation between different religious or belief communities, in order to tackle the increasing phenomena of antisemitism, islamo-phobia and christiano-phobia that often result in discrimination at the workplace for individuals belonging to one specific religious or belief group;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Ask the Member States and the Commission to carefully but urgently reconsider their position in the deadlocked negotiations on a general directive on anti- discrimination in the Council as referred to in its resolution of 25 October 2011 on mobility and inclusion of people with disabilities and the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (2010/2272(INI)), with special reference to the fact that on 23 December 2010 the European Union ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Disabled and the Court of Justice of the European Union also has a more extended interpretative practice which should be taken as a basis for the future;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Recommends that the European Commission
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E a (new) Ea. whereas homophobia continues to manifest in Member States, including murders, banned gay prides and equality marches, public use of inflammatory, threatening and hateful language, police failure to provide adequate protection, violent authorised demonstrations by homophobic groups, and the explicit prohibition of recognising existing same- sex unions;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16a. Underlines the necessity to establish in the Member States a unitary, clear and coherent system of jurisprudence, for equal treatment in employment and occupation;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16a. Notes that the European Commission should recommend a dual approach of formal investigation and hearing of complaints with the availability of mediation; stresses the need for a professional training of mediators in order to safeguard the success of mediation;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16a. Calls on the political groups in the European Parliament, after the next European elections, to set up a monitoring system based on Paragraph 84 of the report on mobility and inclusion of people with disabilities adopted in 2011, which calls on the Council and Commission to consider concluding an interinstitutional agreement with the European Parliament in order - for the first time in the history of the European Parliament - to draw up a specific recommendation and agreement for Parliament to be involved in monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and notes that this call for a monitoring committee was reiterated in the joint declaration of 5 June 2013 by the European Disability Forum and the leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 b (new) 16b. Recommends that the European Commission should have a legal framework including discrimination on all grounds for employment and occupation;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 c (new) 16c. Underlines the crucial role of social partners in preventing and fighting discrimination at the workplace and calls on the Member States to effectively implement measures at national, sectoral and company level;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 d (new) 16d. Calls on the Member States to organize campaigns to promote awareness of citizens' rights in employment and occupation;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E a (new) Ea. whereas the attainment of equal opportunities is inconceivable without the responsible decision taken by those women who, without concern for the sacrifice which, in the world of work, they accept for their person and their body by bearing children, place themselves at a disadvantage in comparison with those who are not prepared to make this sacrifice;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas, due to the financial and structural crisis in Europe,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas, due to the financial and structural crisis in Europe, the level of unemployment among many groups, in particular young people, including those with disabilities, and older people is increasing with unacceptable speed
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas, due to the financial and
source: PE-513.299
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