Europe’s Equality Pledge in Peril: Can a Landmark Anti-Discrimination Law Be Saved?

The future of the European Commission proposal of 2008 for a Directive aimed at ensuring equal treatment for individuals regardless of religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual orientation, appears bleak. The Commission now deems the necessary unanimous support within the Council of Ministers unattainable. Consequently, its work programme 2025 includes the Directive among the pending legislative proposals slated for withdrawal by July. This development sends a concerning signal at a time when diversity, equality, and integration are facing significant pressures, suggesting an abandonment of efforts that arguably require renewed vigour. The moment is ripe to explore avenues for preserving the core tenets of what is widely known as the Equal Treatment Directive. The most promising way forward lies in the adoption of the Directive through what the EU Treaties term "enhanced cooperation" among a minimum of nine member states. Initiating enhanced cooperation is likely to shift the current dynamics in two key ways. It will create a platform for the progressive development of the existing text, for instance on intersectional discrimination, moving away from the current focus on accommodating the objections of a few. Furthermore, it will exert considerable pressure on the dissenting member states to justify their non-participation domestically, thereby incentivising them to join later.