Government to soon discuss EU anti-discrimination directive

The Czech government will make a decision on the Czech Republic’s position on the new EU anti-discrimination directive in the near future, ministers said at a meeting of the Chamber of Deputies Committee for European affairs on Friday. The Czech Republic is the last of 27 EU member states to not yet have passed an anti-discrimination law. Members of the government are not united on the new EU directive; while the Minister for Ethnic Minorities and Human Rights Džamila Stehlíková supports the directive, the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry Petr Nečas considers it redundant. The new directive is designed to guarantee protection against discrimination in all EU countries in the areas of housing, education, social security and services, regardless of individuals’ faith, age, special needs or sexual orientation. The Czech Republic was expected to pass an anti-discrimination law by its entry to the EU in May 2004.