The adoption in 2000 of the Racial Equality Directive (2000/43) and of the Employment Equality Directive (2000/78) set in motion an unprecedented movement in all EU Member States as well as many other European countries towards the adoption and review of national anti-discrimination legislation. 13 years later, these landmark Directives have been transposed in all EU Member States, and anti-discrimination legislation on the grounds protected by these Directives – race and ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability and sexual orientation – is now being applied by courts and practitioners on the national level.
The objective of this Comparative Analysis, drafted by Isabelle Chopin and Catharina Germaine (Migration Policy Group), is to compare and contrast the information set out in the country reports for 2012 in a format mirroring that of the provisions of the Directives and to provide an overview of national anti-discrimination legislation. In addition, 13 years after the adoption of the Racial Equality and Employment Equality Directives, the Comparative Analysis reflects on the transposition of these landmark instruments and draws on some conclusions regarding the effective implementation of anti-discrimination law in Europe. Significant EU and national case-law and key issues are highlighted so as to enrich the overview. The Comparative Analysis is based on information current as of 1 January 2013.
The annually updated country reports on which the Comparative Analysis is based are produced by the European Network of Legal Experts in the non-discrimination field and cover the transposition of the Directives into the national legal systems of the 28 Member States as well as the enforcement of national anti-discrimination legislation. The reports cover national law, the establishment of enforcement mechanisms and the adoption of other measures. In addition to the EU Member States, the Network also includes the candidate countries Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey as well as the EEA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The Network is composed of 33 independent national experts, and was established and is managed by Human European Consultancy and the Migration Policy Group on behalf of the European Commission.
