EU opens Year of Equal Opportunity in Berlin
The European Union has launched the “Year of Equal Opportunities for All” with a two-day conference in Berlin aimed at promoting new anti-discrimination laws across the continent.
In its drive to ban discriminatory behavior, the European Commission has adopted sweeping measures to end prejudice based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. But even though the EU directive has been transformed into the national legislation of all of the 27 EU member states, the new rights are rarely used.
According to a Eurobarometer survey published earlier this year, most Europeans believe that discrimination is rife in the EU. But when it comes to doing something about it, there’s a distinct lack of public interest. […]
The European Union’s executive commission, however, is seeking to change that, and 2007 has been declared the European Year of Equal Opportunity. With the congress in Berlin and a series of EU-funded events in its member states, the EU wants to highlight its recent anti-discrimination drive.
Read full article: Deutsche Welle, 31 January 2007
