Europe Goes Slow on Gay Laws

European Union governments are in no hurry to widen the scope of the bloc’s anti-discrimination rules so that gays and lesbians can enjoy greater rights.

Under a law dating from 2000, discrimination in the workplace on grounds of sexual orientation is prohibited. Yet because the measure is restricted to employment and training, homosexuals are denied its protection once their working day is over. As a result, a doctor could refuse to treat a gay patient, or a landlord could refuse to let his apartment to a same-sex couple.

To plug this legislative gap, the European Commission came forward with a new proposal in July this year that would make it an offence to discriminate against gay people in access to healthcare, education, social protection, housing and the provision of goods and services. Discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, religion and belief are also covered by the proposal, which is modelled on EU-wide laws that have already been introduced against racial prejudice.

The blueprint has had a problematic birth. Senior figures from the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, are known to have been reluctant to introduce the proposal, with some arguing that only discrimination against people with disabilities should be covered by it. Their rationale was that a more comprehensive measure would be unlikely to win approval from the EU’s governments.

This prediction appears to have at least partly materialised. Greece and Malta are seeking to have the measure watered down, according to EU officials, by seeking that the clauses on discrimination in education are removed.

An official tracking the law’s progress said that there is little chance that the Czech Republic will be able to secure a deal allowing the legislation to come into effect when it holds the EU’s rotating presidency in the first half of 2009. See Europe Goes Slow on Gay Laws
Inter Press Service, Italy