Vetoed antidiscrimination act passed by parliament

The lower house of parliament has overturned a presidential veto to ratify last year’s antidiscrimination act. 118 MPs across the political spectrum voted for the act, with the exclusion of the Communist Party. The new law is primarily intended to define when behaviour towards individuals is discriminatory and when not, and to emphasize equal opportunity. The Czech Republic was expected to pass an antidiscrimination act in 2004 upon entry to the EU, and is the last member state to do so. President Václav Klaus vetoed the act a year ago, saying it was unnecessary as basic rights were already covered by the constitution and other acts.