European Year of Equal Opportunities for All

In order to invite attention to a specific problem, the European Commission dedicates every year to a respective topic. Last year the focus was on creation of a European labour market and it was called the European Year of Workers’ Mobility.
The idea of the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All results from the discrepancy between well-developed anti-discrimination legislation in Europe and actual state of things. However good the legislation, it is not enough to change attitudes and behaviour in this sensitive area. According to the Eurobarometer survey conducted in January 2007, 64% of Europeans believe discrimination is widespread in their country and 51% think that not enough is being done to combat the problem. Therefore, this year special attention should be paid to equal opportunities issues and additional efforts should be made to promote anti-discriminatory practices in the EU.

Directives - In 2000 two European directives – the Racial Equality Directive and the Employment Equality Directive – were approved to guarantee a common minimum level of protection to EU citizens against all forms of discrimination. The directives were supported by measures for their practical realisation in the form of a Community Action Programme to combat discrimination (2001-2006). This initiative was prolonged for the 2007-2013 period within the frame of the Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (PROGRESS) aiming to support financially the implementation of the EU objectives in the fields of employment and social affairs, including anti-discrimination and diversity issues (the forth section of the programme).
In 2004 the European Commission presented a Green Paper “Equality and non-discrimination for all in an enlarged EU” followed by a public consultation. As a result, a year later “Framework strategy for non-discrimination and equal opportunities for all” came into being to ensure that European anti-discrimination legislation is fully implemented and enforced.
The European Year 2007 has been designed to become the centrepiece of the framework strategy. The Year aims to make people more aware of their rights to enjoy equal treatment and a life free of discrimination, as well as to promote equal opportunities for all and to launch a major debate on the benefits of diversity both for European societies and individuals. A high level expert group was established to deal with good practices in the integration of disadvantaged ethnic groups in the labour markets. The High Level Group will present its report and recommendations at a closing conference of the Year of Equal Opportunities for All.

...and events - Events of the Year take place at EU, national and local levels, as decentralisation is one of the key principles of the campaign. Every country appointed national bodies responsible for implementation of national strategies related to the Year. In Italy such a body is the Department for Rights and Equal Opportunities. During the year various events were organised in our country. Some of them were dedicated to equal opportunities for disabled people, for example, the national congress “Non-discrimination = Equal opportunities” (“Non discriminazione = Pari opportunità”) in Bologna; others – against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender, for example, the Ready during the Festival of Creativity in Florence, and so on. 
The fight against discrimination will not be finished after the closing conference of the Year on 19-20 November. It will be continued within the frame of both the 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue and other initiatives.

Halina Sapeha - novembre 2007