ERIO at the launching of the 2007-European Year of Equal Opportunities for All

On January 30th and 31st, 2007, the Opening of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All was held in Berlin, on the occasion of the first ministerial-level Equality Summit. The aim of the Summit was to gather all key stakeholders (European Commission, national governments and non-governmental organisations) in the fight against discrimination, in order to identify concrete approaches to bring about equal opportunities in practice. “Diversity as an enrichment” was the key message of the conference. The first panel discussion focused on concrete actions to undertake in order to “make equality a reality”. The second panel discussion analysed ways to maximise the benefits of diversity. Vladimir Spidla, Commissioner of the DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, stated in his speech that the benefits of diversity for the whole society should be made clear. Nevertheless, he stressed that equal opportunities and human dignity are inseparable and the debate on anti-discrimination should not be reduced to a business issue.

Commissioner Spidla further said: “…the results of the recent Euro- Barometer are quite optimistic. The research shows that people want discrimination to be eliminated but we need concrete recommendations, more information and more knowledge in order to address it properly. Our work should go beyond the Year of Equal Opportunities. Few people know about the anti-discrimination legislation and the goal of the Year is to raise awareness and describe the benefits of the principle of equal treatment. 21st century will be of a diverse Europe and citizens should know their rights ". To the questions of what is his dream, Commissioner Spidla said: "I want when people see at each other to see the person but not of what they want to see…"

The four parallel workshops which followed addressed “diversity in practice” in its four key components: Rights – Making legislation work; Representation – Making all voices heard; Recognition – Highlighting the benefits of diversity; Respect – eliminating stereotypes and prejudice. Especially representatives from NGOs raised critical issues with regard to the development of anti-discrimination legislation and policies at EU and national level. It was criticised that there is an inadequate transposition of the EU anti-discrimination legislation into the national legislations and that there is a lack of information on the new anti-discrimination legislation and the National Equality Bodies. It was also stressed that institutional systems should be re-shaped in order to make more effective the fight against discrimination and that positive actions should be undertaken.

Discrimination faced by Roma was also addressed in the framework of the event. Viktoria Mohaksi, Roma Member of the European Parliament, gave a speech on the legal dimension of school segregation of Roma children, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. Referring to the Hungarian case, she stated that although there is an anti-discrimination legislation in Hungary since 2002, school segregation of Roma children persists. This makes evident the gaps of the current anti-discrimination legislation and its lack of effectiveness in order to tackle all forms of discrimination.