National governments and members of the European Parliament are joining forces to oppose the proposed withdrawal of a long-standing initiative aimed at combating workplace discrimination. Fourteen EU countries have submitted a letter, dated July 1, to Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s equality commissioner, urging the European Commission to rethink its decision to eliminate the equal treatment directive.
In February, the EU executive suggested rescinding the 2008 proposal, which sought to enhance protections against discrimination in the workplace based on characteristics like race, religion, disability, age, and sexual orientation. This recommendation followed a protracted 17-year stalemate within the Council of the EU, where member states negotiate their positions, as the Commission deemed further progress “unlikely.”
Support from member states
However, social affairs ministers from Belgium, Estonia, France, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden are determined to preserve the directive. In their correspondence, they asserted that “the support for this directive has never been greater” and called on the Commission to engage with the remaining dissenting countries to “clarify what improvements can be made to arrive at the required unanimity.”
This effort follows another letter from Parliament President Roberta Metsola, dated June 16, which expressed significant opposition to the Commission’s plan to withdraw the proposal. The committee on civil liberties, which has been overseeing the directive in Parliament, echoed these sentiments.
Challenges to achieving consensus
Lahbib highlighted in May that “it has not been possible to reach the required unanimity and there is no indication or clear prospect that unanimity could be reached in the foreseeable future.” While 24 countries have voiced their support for the directive during Council discussions, three nations—Germany, the Czech Republic, and Italy—have effectively blocked it. Lahbib pointed out that “we need unanimity in the Council, and while abstention is enough, objection is not.”
She also mentioned that if these three countries could articulate their concerns that prevent them from agreeing or at least abstaining from voting on the proposal, this could pave the way for a compromise. “Engaging with these three member states also has potential,” Lahbib added.
In February, the Commission provided both the Parliament and the Council with a six-month timeframe to offer their non-binding opinions regarding the list of proposals it intended to withdraw.