The Commission adopted on July 2nd, a proposal for a directive which provides for protection from discrimination on grounds of age, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief beyond the workplace. This new directive would ensure equal treatment in the areas of social protection, including social security and health care, education and access to and supply of goods and services which are commercially available to the public, including housing.

Although the right to equal treatment is fundamental, millions of people in the EU continue to face discrimination in their everyday lives. Inequality in Community legislation itself is caused because people are protected from discrimination outside the workplace only on grounds of gender and race or ethnic origin. In words of the Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Mr. Vladimír Špidla, EU institutions "must ensure equal treatment for all grounds. The measures we propose are proportionate and reasonable; they give legal certainty to businesses and to users of goods and services while respecting the specific requirements of various sectors as well as national traditions."

Eurobarometer surveys show that a large majority of Europeans support such legislation: 77% back measures to protect people from discrimination in education and 68% in access to goods and services.

With this proposal the Commission aims to create a level playing field across the EU as some Member States already have very extensive national anti-discrimination protection in place. Calls for such a horizontal proposal came repeatedly from the European Parliament while the Heads of State and Government in December 2007 called on Member States to strengthen their efforts to combat discrimination.

The law will prohibits direct and indirect discrimination as well as harassment and victimisation. For people with disabilities, non-discrimination will involve general accessibility as well as the principle of "reasonable accommodation" which is already used in existing European legislation. It will, however, avoid imposing a disproportionate burden on service providers by taking account of the size and resources of the organisation, its nature, the estimated cost, the life cycle of the goods and services and the possible benefits of increased access for persons with disabilities.

The directive will only apply to private persons in so far as they are performing their commercial or professional activities. Also, Member States will remain free to maintain measures ensuring the secular nature of the State or concerning the status and activities of religious organisations. The directive will have no effect on generally accepted practices such as discounts for senior citizens (e.g. bus fares and entrance to museums) or age restrictions on access to certain goods (e.g. alcohol for young people) on grounds of public health. To ensure effectiveness of the proposed measures, national equality bodies will give advice to victims of discrimination while civil society organisations will also have the possibility to help victims in judicial and administrative procedures.

The proposal for a directive is part of a broader policy approach to non-discrimination, also adopted by the Commission as a follow-up to the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. The Communication on 'Non-discrimination and equal opportunities: A renewed commitment' acknowledges that legal protection of individual rights has to go hand in hand with the positive and active promotion of non-discrimination and equal opportunities. It sets out key areas in which further progress at EU and national level is needed, such as the fight against multiple discrimination, further raising of awareness, non-discrimination mainstreaming, positive action and data collection. It also announces the setting up of a new governmental expert group to strengthen the dialogue between Member States on non-discrimination policies. Finally, the Communication acknowledges that the situation of the Roma is characterised by persisting individual and institutional discrimination and far-reaching social exclusion.