Source: European Parliament
Priority question for written answer P-001148/2025
to the Council
Rule 144
Krzysztof Śmiszek (S&D), Maria Walsh (PPE), Alice Kuhnke (Verts/ALE), Ilaria Salis (The Left), Lucia Yar (Renew), Birgit Sippel (S&D), Sirpa Pietikäinen (PPE), Matjaž Nemec (S&D), Magdalena Adamowicz (PPE), Marc Angel (S&D), Rudi Kennes (The Left), Francisco Assis (S&D), Rasmus Nordqvist (Verts/ALE), Merja Kyllönen (The Left), Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Verts/ALE), Kim Van Sparrentak (Verts/ALE), Carla Tavares (S&D), Katrin Langensiepen (Verts/ALE), Anna Strolenberg (Verts/ALE), Villy Søvndal (Verts/ALE), Christophe Clergeau (S&D), Alexandra Geese (Verts/ALE), Dainius Žalimas (Renew), Elio Di Rupo (S&D), Thijs Reuten (S&D), Alessandro Zan (S&D), Robert Biedroń (S&D), Nicolae Ştefănuță (Verts/ALE), Lukas Sieper (NI), Catarina Martins (The Left), Saskia Bricmont (Verts/ALE), Alex Agius Saliba (S&D), René Repasi (S&D), Sebastian Everding (The Left), Vilija Blinkevičiūtė (S&D), Gabriele Bischoff (S&D), Thomas Bajada (S&D), Petras Auštrevičius (Renew), Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska (PPE), Nikos Pappas (The Left), Lena Schilling (Verts/ALE), Carolina Morace (The Left), Evin Incir (S&D), Hanna Gedin (The Left), Romana Jerković (S&D), Mounir Satouri (Verts/ALE), Nikos Papandreou (S&D)
The announcement that the proposed horizontal anti-discrimination directive is being withdrawn from the 2025 Commission Work Programme has raised serious concerns about transparency and institutional accountability. The proposed law was expected to fill a significant legislative gap and generate benefits for society as a whole by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the EU’s anti-discrimination framework beyond the workplace and promoting more harmonised living standards and free movement in the internal market.
In June 2024, the Belgian Council Presidency put forward a compromise proposal for a new Council directive on equal treatment, which won the support of a broad majority of Member States after having been blocked in the Council for 16 years. Negotiations on this directive are currently a priority for the Polish Council Presidency.
Can the Council provide clarification on the following points:
- 1.Did the Commission notify the Council and the Polish Council Presidency in a timely manner of its intention to withdraw the directive, and what are their views regarding these plans?
- 2.Can the Council provide a detailed overview of the arguments advanced by the Member States that continue to oppose the proposal (Czechia, Germany and Italy)?
- 3.In light of the above, what concrete measures do the Council and the Council Presidency plan to take to continue comprehensively addressing discrimination in the EU?
Submitted: 18.3.2025