(2004/C 70 E/235)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3105/03

by Marianne Eriksson (GUE/NGL), Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) and Joke Swiebel (PSE) to the Commission

(22 October 2003)

Subject:   Funding EQUAL projects and sexual orientation discrimination

Article 13 of the EC Treaty, Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and Article 1 of Directive 2000/78/EC (1) establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation prohibit discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation. At Community level there is an integrated strategy to combat discrimination (in particular that based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation) and social exclusion. Focusing on the labour market, EQUAL forms part of that strategy. Member States shall formulate their strategy for EQUAL on the basis of thematic fields in the four pillars of the European Employment Strategy. Within these fields Member States shall ensure that their proposals principally benefit those subject to the main forms of discrimination (based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation) and inequality.

We are informed that under the current EQUAL programme, only four partnerships out of 1 400 are related to sexual orientation discrimination. Could the Commission inform us whether this information is correct?

Could the Commission inform us whether all Member States have included sexual orientation discrimination in the national call for proposals under the current EQUAL programme? If not, could the Commission give us an explanation of what action the Commission took to increase the number of partnerships with a focus on sexual orientation discrimination?

Will the Commission see to it that the discrimination ground of sexual orientation will be explicitly mentioned in the EQUAL programme and in the call for proposals in the current Member States as well as in the accession States for the next round of EQUAL in spring 2004?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(25 November 2003)

The Community Initiative EQUAL aims at developing, testing and mainstreaming new ways of combating all forms of discrimination and inequalities related to the labour market. Therefore, EQUAL constitutes an experimental branch of the European strategy to combat discrimination (in particular that based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation)

In applying the principle of subsidiarity, the EQUAL Initiative is implemented by the Member States, on the basis of a programme document agreed between the Member States and the Commission. These documents specify the overall programme approach and priorities, and the basic administrative and financial procedures for implementing them.

The Commission is monitoring the national implementation of EQUAL at programme level only, and not at the level of Development Partnerships. However, Member States have agreed to provide the information on Development Partnerships in a public database.

Member States have also agreed to hold public calls for proposals, on the basis of the provisions laid down in their national EQUAL programme document. As stated in the EQUAL Communication Article 8 (2) there is a clear policy link to the purpose of the EQUAL programme and the mentioning of all grounds of discrimination. Later in the same Communication, in Article 14 (3), it is stated that the ‘Member States shall ensure that their proposals principally benefit those subject to the main forms of discrimination (based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation) and inequality.’ This means that activities related to all mentioned grounds for discrimination are eligible in all Member States under the EQUAL programme.

As all the national EQUAL programme documents present a strategy based on an analysis of the situation regarding all kinds of discrimination, and on national policy priorities, the Commission has taken no specific action to promote any of the specific grounds for discrimination.

A screening of the public database referred to above, reveals that there are far more than four Development Partnerships which have activities related to discrimination based on sexual orientation. There are sometimes geographical Development Partnerships dealing with all grounds for discrimination in a specific geographical area where some activities in some of those Development Partnerships are focussed on sexual orientation discrimination. There are also examples of Development Partnerships where this can be found as one of several subprojects of a Development Partnership. For example in Britain there is a Development Partnership dealing with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and exclusion and the aspect of sexual orientation discrimination is one dimension that they are working with as part of their work although it is not the main focus of their work.

It is however true that there are few Development Partnerships that have their main or only focus on discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation is already stated and established in the EQUAL programme as referred to in the EQUAL Communication. This policy content is clear and will remain. Also in the EQUAL Communication foreseen, the Commission will make sure that there is a clear reference to Article 13 of the EC Treaty, Article 21 in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and to the Directive 2000/78/EC (4) as you refer to in your question. In the ongoing negotiations with the new Member States the Commission will also ensure that EQUAL includes all mentioned grounds of discrimination.

As regards the calls for proposals, Member States have to respect all relevant provisions of the EQUAL Communication and include all forms of discrimination.

In order to get a deeper insight into the widespread activities and promising results of the first round of EQUAL, all Member States have awarded contracts for the evaluation of EQUAL at national level and the Commission has awarded a contract at Union level. The midterm results of these evaluations will be available only in December 2003. If these evaluations identify the need for action to combat specific grounds of discrimination, the Commission will take these recommendations into account for the second round of EQUAL.

(1)  OJ L 303, 2.12.2000, p. 16.

(2)  At Community level there is an integrated strategy to combat discrimination (in particular that based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation) and social exclusion. Focusing on the labour market, EQUAL will form part of that strategy (OJ C 127, 5.5.2000, p. 2).

(3)  Article 14. Equal Communication (OJ C 127, 5.5.2000, p. 2) ‘Member States shall formulate their strategy for EQUAL on the basis of thematic fields in the four pillars of the European Employment strategy. Within these fields Member States shall ensure that their proposals principally benefit those subject to the main forms of discrimination (based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation) and inequality. Each thematic field shall be fully accessible to all such groups.’

(4)  Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation.