Earlier this year, the European Commission announced the withdrawal of its proposal for the Equal Treatment Directive, a key piece of legislation intended to close longstanding gaps in EU anti-discrimination law. First introduced in 2008, the directive had been stalled in the Council of the EU for over 15 years. It aimed to ensure equal treatment for all individuals, regardless of religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual orientation, extending protections beyond the workplace and into broader areas of life.
Currently, EU Member States must comply with two main anti-discrimination laws:
- The Racial Equality Directive, which prohibits racial discrimination both in employment and in non-employment areas such as healthcare, education, and social services.
- The Employment Equality Directive, which covers discrimination based on religion or belief, disability, age, and sexual orientation—but only in the context of employment.
As a result, the EU lacks a single, comprehensive, or “horizontal”, directive that uniformly prohibits all forms of discrimination across all areas of life. This creates an uneven level of protection where, for example, racial discrimination is addressed more broadly than other types. Moreover, individuals experiencing intersectional discrimination, such as a migrant woman facing religious bias in education or a young disabled person, remain especially vulnerable.
The Equal Treatment Directive could have addressed this imbalance. It had the potential to:
- Improve accessibility standards in services, housing, and education;
- Strengthen the rights of people with disabilities, young people, LGBTIQ+ individuals, and religious minorities;
- Ensure equal access to goods, healthcare, social protection, and public services.
Beyond legal protections, the directive could have encouraged social innovation and cohesion across the EU. Civil society organisations, social enterprises, and inclusive businesses could have played a key role in supporting national governments with implementation, by providing innovative, community-rooted solutions.
The withdrawal of this legislation raises an important question: What now? In the absence of unified EU action, it becomes increasingly important for national, regional and local actors, including governments, entrepreneurs, companies, and civil society, to take the lead. By going beyond minimum legal requirements, they can champion accessibility, diversity, and inclusion in everyday life.