[ALBSA-Info] Fwd: EU Commissioner Diamantopoulou "dismayed" at Member States' failure to implement new racial equality rules

[AAlibali]

--- In balkanhr at yahoogroups.com, Greek Helsinki Monitor <office at g...> 
wrote:


--------------------------------------------------------
SEE ATTACHED ENAR UPDATE ON TRANSPOSITION OF RACE EQUALITY DIRECTIVE 
IN EU 
MEMBERS ALSO AVAILABLE AT: 
http://www.enar-eu.org/en/brnews/docs/Implementation%20update%20July%2
02003.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------



Commission concerned at Member States' failure to implement new
racial 
equality rules
DN: IP/03/1047     Date: 18/07/2003
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&do
c=IP/03/1047|0|RAPID&lg=EN

IP/03/1047

Brussels, 18 July, 2003




Commission concerned at Member States' failure to implement new
racial 
equality rules

The European Commission is deeply concerned that Member States have
so 
far 
failed to write new EU rules on racial discrimination into national 
law. 
Many Member States are set to miss the deadline of 19 July 2003 for 
transposing the legislation. In her opening address to a conference
on 
fighting discrimination on Monday 21 July, Anna Diamantopoulou, 
Employment 
and Social Affairs Commissioner, will give a clear message to EU 
governments on the need to incorporate these rules into national law 
immediately.

At the opening address of the Italian Presidency conference on 
"Fighting 
Discrimination: from Theory to Practice" in Milan on Monday 21 July, 
Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou will say: "I am dismayed that most 
Member 
States have failed to integrate the Racial Equality Directive into 
national 
law. Let us not forget that this Directive was agreed unanimously by 
the 
Council three years ago."

The racial equality directive, adopted by EU governments in 20001, 
prohibits discrimination against people on the grounds of racial or 
ethnic 
origin. The rules cover a wide range of areas where unfair treatment 
might 
occur, including access to jobs, working conditions, rates of pay and 
the 
rights and benefits linked to a job. In addition, they also include 
access 
to education and training, social security benefits and health care 
and 
access to and supply of goods and services which are available to the 
public, including housing. In all countries, governments also have to 
designate a body to provide practical and independent support and 
guidance 
to victims of racial discrimination. This means creating a body to 
perform 
this role if one does not already exist.

New Member States2 must also transpose the provisions of the
Directive 
into 
national law before joining the Union.

Next steps

Under the rules for implementing European legislation, Member States 
must 
inform the Commission of the steps they have taken to integrate the 
provisions of a directive into national law. On the eve of the 
deadline, 
the Commission had not received a single notification of complete 
transposition of the Racial Equality Directive.

Awareness raising campaigns

In order to raise awareness of rights and obligations under the new 
rules 
and to promote the benefits of diversity more generally, the 
Commission has 
recently launched a five-year awareness-raising campaign to run in
all 
Member States with the slogan "For Diversity against Discrimination"3.

For more information on the new legislation, and the information 
campaigns:

www.stop-discrimination.info

1 Racial Equality Directive 2000/43/EC

2 Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, 
Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia.

3 See IP/03/840 'For Diversity - Against Discrimination': 
Diamantopoulou 
acts to boost awareness of new EU anti-discrimination rules


_______________________________________
Greek Helsinki Monitor
e-mail: office at g...

Internet Addresses:
Balkan Human Rights Web Pages: 
<http://www.greekhelsinki.gr>http://www.greekhelsinki.gr
The Balkan Human Rights List: 
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/balkanhr>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
balkanhr
The Greek Human Rights List: 
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/greekhr>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/g
reekhr
Center of Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe - 
Southeast 
Europe: <http://www.cedime.net>http://www.cedime.net

Mail Address:
P.O. Box 60820
GR-15304 Glyka Nera, Greece

Telephone and Fax:
Tel. +30-210.347.22.59;
Fax +30-210.601.87.60
________________________________________
--- End forwarded message ---