Czech EU commissioner to launch anti-discrimination campaign

EU Commissioner Vladimír Špidla will launch a European campaign against discrimination at the United Islands of Prague 2008 music festival on Saturday. Within the next four months, an information campaign will visit about 20 cities and towns in ten EU countries. According to the commissioner, who oversees employment, social affairs and equal opportunities in the European Commission, many people throughout Europe remain unaware of the right to live without discrimination regarding age, gender, religion, sexual orientation or ethnic origin. Mr Špidla stressed on Friday that the issues vary across borders: while discrimination over religion is unusual in the Czech Republic, unequal treatment related to age or disability is fairly common. A Eurobarometer survey released earlier in 2008 suggested tat 58 percent of Czechs feel that age-related discrimination is frequent.