After announcing its withdrawal earlier in February 2025, the European Commission has recently revived its proposal for an Equal Treatment Directive, following strong pushback from civil society and Members of the European Parliament.
As we reported a few months ago, the Commission had proposed withdrawing the Directive due to 17 years of deadlock in the Council. This move was strongly opposed by the European Disability Forum and other disability organisations, including EFHOH, who warned that withdrawal would represent a step back from equality in the EU agenda.
The Equal Treatment Directive seeks to extend EU anti-discrimination protections beyond the field of employment to include access to education, housing, and services, covering grounds such as disability, religion or belief, age, and sexual orientation. Its adoption would mark a significant step forward for the rights of persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups across Europe.
Unfortunately, progress has been blocked since 2008 by a small group of Member States, most recently Germany, Italy, and Czech Republic, who have withheld their support, preventing the unanimity required in the Council.
The revived proposal is a positive development, but it now falls to the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU to drive it forward. Denmark has committed to reopening discussions and has announced that the Directive will be on the agenda of the Social Affairs Council in December.
We now urge our member organisations to call on their national governments to re-engage with the Directive. After 17 years of delay, we cannot let this crucial opportunity for stronger anti-discrimination protections slip away once again.
