Non-discrimination Archives

European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding told MEPs last week that she will present a proposal for a 'European Accessibility Act' before the end of 2012. This new legislation is seen by the Commission as a key element of the European Disability Strategy, which was unveiled last year.

The upcoming Hungarian EU Presidency will give the plight of the bloc's Roma minority the attention it deserves by mobilising resources in the 'Europe 2020' strategy, Hungary's Ambassador to the EU Péter Györkös said on 26 November.

Some 80 million EU citizens are having difficulty using public buildings, facilities and services such as shops, transport and websites because they have some kind of disability. To address this situation, the European Commission this week (15 November) launched a 10-year strategy to improve accessibility and promote equality.

In the first nine months of the year, France repatriated 6,562 Romanians and 910 Bulgarians, according to French Immigration Minister Eric Besson, who has stopped referring to them as Roma. EURACTIV Romania reports.

A new report from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has identified incidents of racism, anti-Semitism and anti-Gypsyism in both amateur and professional football and basketball across the EU 27.

French President Nicolas Sakozy hosted a trilateral summit with Germany and Russia to prepare for his country's G20 presidency, finding temporary refuge in world affairs as more than a million people took to the streets of France over planned reform of the pension system.

As it appears that France will miss the 15 October deadline given by the European Commission to prove the legality of its Roma expulsions policy, the EU executive will make its case "stronger" against Paris, EU officials told EURACTIV.

The European Commission has decided to take France to task regarding its summer crackdown on illegal Roma camps, giving Paris until 15 October to prove that its policies comply with EU laws guaranteeing the free circulation of people.

The European Commission yesterday (27 September) described as "unacceptable" a statement by Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, who said that the Roma community was an "incubator" for crime. Dnevnik, EURACTIV's partner in Bulgaria, reports.

Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, who was caught in a bitter row with Paris last week over the French government's Roma expulsions, said the European Commission will start a legal procedure against France and several other EU countries for failing to transpose into national law a 2004 directive on the free movement of persons.

Recent tensions between France, the European Commission and the European Parliament over the Roma expulsions carried out by the French authorities this summer are likely to mar today's EU summit, which was supposed to discuss the Union's common foreign policy.

Viviane Reding, vice-president of the European Commission responsible for justice and fundamental rights, announced today (14 September) that she will launch a legal procedure against France for discriminating against the Roma. The way Paris has managed the issue is "a disgrace," said Reding in a rare loss of temper.

Lawmakers from the far-right were the only ones to defend French President Nicolas Sarkozy's tough policies towards the Roma during a debate in the European Parliament yesterday (2 September).

Romania should not interpret freedom of movement in the EU as a right to get rid of its Roma at the expense of other countries, Pierre Lellouche, the French state secretary for European affairs, told the press yesterday (31 August) in Brussels, triggering a strong reaction from Bucharest.

EU Commissioner Viviane Reding, responsible for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship, yesterday (25 August) criticised the French authorities for seeking solutions to immigration problems and tackling the Roma issue outside of an EU context. She also indirectly condemned Italy for its "discriminatory" and "inflammatory" rhetoric.

The European Parliament's silence during the summer recess has been broken by liberal group ALDE, which called for a parliamentary debate on the Roma situation in Europe in early September, following France's move to expel members of that minority to their countries of origin, Romania and Bulgaria.

Current tensions over the repatriation of hundreds of Roma from France to Romania should have no repercussions for Bucharest and Sofia's ambitions to join Schengen, the border-free European area, a European Commission spokesperson said yesterday (23 August.)

Applauding France for expelling dozens of Roma, Italy said it wanted to expel citizens of other EU states who live solely off state benefits. Its interior minister said he will ask the European Commission to endorse such a plan.

The European Commission is following very closely France's dealings with its Roma, who the authorities are planning to expel in groups, Commission representatives said yesterday (18 August), after being asked by the Brussels press whether the expulsions were in line with EU legislation.

The French left joined human rights groups and specialised organisations in criticising an anti-delinquency initiative launched by French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday (28 July), which is specifically targeted at the Roma community.

Roma and human rights groups have given a cautious welcome to a new plan launched by the European Commission this week to improve the social and economic integration of Roma into mainstream society.

Action at grassroots rather than EU level holds the key to ensuring the survival of minority languages such as Galician, heard a major conference at the European Parliament last week, with participants calling for an end to oppressive legislation like Slovakia's language law. 

Ethnic and religious minorities in Europe continue to suffer from discrimination and prejudice and face disadvantages in a whole host of areas, from employment and education to housing and policing, a report published yesterday (3 December) by the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) reveals.

Sixty-four percent of f Europeans believe the economic crisis will bring more discrimination in the job market, according to a new Eurobarometer opinion survey released by the European Commission this week (9 November).