The Czech Republic is the last of the 27 EU member states not to have passed an anti-discrimination law.
The Czech ministers Czech Foreign Minister to receive his Kosovo counterpart ...
Czech, US experts close talks on industrial cooperation agreement ...
Czech PM signs agreement on Czech accession to ESA ... are not united in their views on the new EU directive designed to protect people against unequal treatment either.While Minister for Ethnic Minorities and Human Rights Dzamila Stehlikova (junior government Green Party, SZ) supports the directive, the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry considers it redundant, representatives of both ministries told the committee members.The new directive is designed to guarantee similar protection against discrimination in all EU countries, regardless of the people's faith and religion, handicaps, age or their sexual orientation, in the areas of housing, education, social security and services.The Czech Republic was expected to pass an anti-discrimination law by its entry into the EU in May 2004.The parliament passed the bill recently but President Vaclav Klaus vetoed it. The deputies are to take a new vote on the bill. The support of 101 deputies is necessary for it to be passed.The Czech Republic faces fines from the European Commission if it fails to pass the law.Originally, Stehlikova was responsible for the discussion of the EU directive in the Czech Republic but Labour and Social Affairs Minister Petr Necas (senior ruling Civic Democrats, ODS) has recently took over this duty.While the Greens insist that people must be protected against discrimination by law the Civic Democrats consider such a law unnecessary."No new legislation is necessary. The existing laws are sufficient," Necas's deputy Michal Sedlacek said, referring to the EU directive.The protection against an unequal treatment should be left within the jurisdiction of each country that will do it according to its tradition, Sedlacek said, adding that it was difficult to introduce a uniform European approach to the problem.According to the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry, the Czech Republic should resolve the problem through non-legislative measures.Stehlikova's office, on the contrary, supports the EU directive."We should actively support the proposal and we welcome it. It would be a disgrace if we blocked or ignore it at the time of the Czech EU presidency. We think that the Czech Republic should join France and Sweden that support the directive," Jucie Otahalova from the government's human rights council told CTK.The Czech Republic will take the six-month EU rotating presidency from France next January and will pass it to Sweden in the second part of 2009.All three countries have agreed to act together. The European Commission has approved the directive.If the Czech Republic had passed the anti-discrimination law, the EU directive would have not meant a further burden for it, Otahalova said.By supporting it, the Czech Republic would have only showed that it belongs among the countries that are interested in equal treatment of its citizens, she added.Sona Markova (junior opposition Communist Party, KSCM), deputy chairwoman of the committee for European affairs, said the cabinet's approach was strange."On the one hand the government has declared that it welcomes general anti-discrimination legislation but on the other it is lagging behind in the implementation of this goal," Markova said.Stehlikova said she was preparing a website on the EU anti-discrimination directive on which people will not only be able to find information and explanation but to express their views on protection against unequal treatment.
(Ceske Noviny)
more info >>
<< Back