Yesterday evening (Monday 16th), the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee approved the report by Dutch Green MEP Kathalijne Buitenweg on extending anti-discrimination legal protection beyond the workplace for discrimination grounds of age, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief.
London Green MEP, Jean Lambert, who is a Member of the Committee and voted in favour of the report, commented:
"The adoption of this report marks welcome progress on equal rights, particularly on access to goods and services. However, certain issues concerning family law are not included and we may face difficult negotiations to secure support across parties, given the positions of largest political groups in the European Parliament.
"Since 2000, European legislation has outlawed all forms of discrimination in the workplace. However for too long there has been no legal provision at European level to ban discrimination on grounds of age, disability, sexual orientation and religion/belief beyond the world of work. This gaping hole in the legislation includes vital social services such as healthcare, but also commercial services.
"In these areas, we currently have an inconsistent and unacceptable situation where a black lesbian woman would be legally protected against discrimination if it was on the ground of her race or gender, but not on the basis of her sexual orientation. The new directive aims to remedy this situation and fill the gaps left open by the existing legislation. I hope it will be fully supported by the European Parliament as a whole when it comes for vote in plenary."
The European Parliament plenary session vote is due on 2 April.