Czech Presidency must embrace EU Anti Discrimination laws.

9.40.00am GMT Wed 14th Jan 2009

LibDem MEP Liz Lynne (UK,ALDE) has today given a guarded welcome to the new Czech Presidency of the EU, but warned that the Czech Government must commit their presidency to upholding core EU values, particularly in the field of human rights and anti-discrimination.

The Czech Government has so far refused to implement existing EU antidiscrimination legislation and have also opposed a proposed new directive currently being considered by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers that seeks to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation in access to goods and services.

Liz, who is Vice President of the European Parliaments Employment and Social Affairs Committee and Vice President of the Parliament's Disability Intergroup said:

"If the Czech Presidency is to succeed and be seen as credible then it must recognise that human rights and anti-discrimination are values central to the European Union and see its way clear to supporting both existing and proposed EU antidiscrimination legislation."

"My hope is that the Presidency will support the proposal for a new comprehensive anti- discrimination directive in access to goods and services; failure to back this would be a travesty for the millions of people currently excluded from anti-discrimination legislation and denied the equal rights they are entitled to as European citizens."

"The Czech Government must also fulfill their obligations and finally implement the employment directive of 2000, which it has so far stubbornly refused to do."

ENDS

The UK MEP made her comments as the Czech Presidency presented its agenda to the European Parliament in Strasbourg this morning. The Czech Republic have remained unwilling to implement EU antidiscrimination legislation in particular the Employment Directive 2000 which outlaws discrimination on the grounds of disability, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief in relation to employment. In 2000 Liz Lynne was rapporteur for the ALDE group on the Employment Directive.

Liz is currently rapporteur for the Employment and Social Affairs Committee on the proposed new antidiscrimination directive which outlaws discrimination in access to goods and services on the grounds of age,disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief. Race and Gender are dealt with by existing directives.