Equal Treatment

Equal treatment had not been discussed during the early days of the European Communities; however, this situation changed—not least as a result of political and societal developments—in the 1970s. Now, the European Union is devoting much time and effort to promoting equal treatment. Initially, these efforts were focused exclusively on the equal treatment of men and women (Council Directive 76/207/EEC). The EU gradually extended the scope of its efforts to cover various areas of everyday life and additional types of discrimination (by race, religion etc.).

Four fundamental anti-discrimination Directives (Directives 2000/43/EC; 2000/78/EC; 2002/73/EC; and 2004/113/EC) have been recently passed. In addition, in 2000 the EU adopted an action programme to combat discrimination (Council Decision 2000/750/EC). This programme created, and gave financial support to, various national and European initiatives throughout the continent. The promoted measures are largely intended to identify incidents of discrimination and heighten EU citizens’ awareness of the phenomenon.

In Germany, the equal treatment directives have recently led to intensive debate among politicians and society at large, which ultimately culminated in the passage of the General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz).