Memorandum by the Commission for Racial
Equality (CRE)
1. The Commission For Racial Equality (CRE)
welcomes the opportunity to respond to the European Union Committee's
scrutiny of the European Commission's Annual Policy Strategy for
2008 (APS 2008). The CRE will aim in its submission to make comments
of a general and of a specific nature on the provisions of the
APS 2008 text on issues around equality and human rights. As the
UK moves towards an integrated approach to equality and human
rights, with the creation of the Commission for Equality and Human
Rights (CEHR)—which will be operational from October 2007—the
CRE considers a "cross strand" approach to its comments
on the APS 2008 to be germane.
2. The CRE welcomes that the APS 2008 states
that there is political consensus in the European Commission (EC)
on the policies it needs to deliver in the social, economic and
environmental fields. The CRE considers that the EU is an appropriate
actor to help to address two of the most important challenges
facing the UK in the 21st century: how we live with one another
and how we live on the planet. The APS 2008 contains a number
of significant and positive proposals in the social and equality
fields and we will monitor closely the Commission legislative
Work Programme of 2008 to ensure that the proposals are followed
up.
3. The CRE welcomes the proposal to follow up
concretely on the EC paper on "Europe's social reality",
which was published in early 2007 by the EC Bureau of Economic
and Policy Advisers. The paper's comprehensive stock-take of the
EU's social situation outlines of future options and a fresh approach
to EU social and equality policy making. It gives a comparative
analysis of member states that are relative leaders—and
laggards—in this area. From the CRE's perspective, this
comparative analysis is a useful starting point for consideration
of policy options and future joint actions at the level of the
EU.
4. The APS 2008 states that the time is ripe
for new policy initiatives in the field of social policy and the
CRE, and eventually the CEHR, will feed into the on-going consultation
on "Europe's Social Reality". The EC's formal consultation
on the review of the Social Policy Agenda, will also be a prime
focal point for the CRE.
5. Of most significance for the CRE (and most
likely for the CEHR) is the EC proposal to extend and reinforce
its equal opportunities policy. New initiatives designed to prevent
and combat discrimination outside of the labour market are welcomed
in particular, especially for those areas of equality which currently
do not enjoy the same level of protection against discrimination
provided in the EU Race Directive (2000/43/EC).
6. The CRE considers that religion, belief,
disability, age and sexual orientation all merit similar level
and scope of protection as provided for in the EU Race Directive.
Indeed, the CRE has considerable experience of working on religious
discrimination and therefore considers that a "leveling up"
of other grounds, including religion, is important. In this regard,
the UK has already gone further in the direction of "leveling
up" of all grounds of discrimination; its experience in this
area (most recently in the field of goods and services) might
be of use to the European Commission when it comes to drafting
future legislation/ initiatives under article 13 as it has promised
to do in its APS 2008.
7. The CRE also welcomes the proposal in the
APS to reconcile work and family life. This issue is seen at the
level of the EU largely through the prism of employment legislation,
and especially the piece of legislation relating to the regulation
of working time. The commitment in the APS 2008 for an "initiative
aimed at the reconciliation of work and family life" may
have to take a more nuanced approach to the broader issue of reconciling
work and family life; it is indeed important to have in mind employment
rights, but as the findings of the 2007 UK Report of the Equalities
Review concluded, equality bodies such as the CEHR will have to
consider carefully what policy should be in place to help mothers
and fathers to balance paid work and caring between them, at the
same time as fulfilling their obligations to their employers.[31]
Moreover, the Equalities Review also unearthed a more complex
picture of the issues facing working mothers; not only is there
an employment disadvantage facing women, particularly the mothers
of young children, but the mothers of disabled children face worse
disadvantage and are twice as likely not to be working compared
to women with non-disabled children.
8. The CRE hopes to work with the EC and bring
the UK experience to the table of reconciling work and family
life. We know from different sources that some member states are
particularly good at making work and family life compatible—namely
the Nordic countries—and we look forward to knowing whether
these countries' successful policies can be spread elsewhere in
the EU, and whether there ought to be a more nuanced approach
to the EU debate on work-life balance, that takes into account
the different experiences of women, which may vary on their ethnic
background, the number and age of their children and whether other
factors, such as disability, need to be factored into the equation.
9. Finally, with regard to key actions envisaged
in the APS 2008 for Security and Freedom, the CRE was interested
to note (another) new policy aimed at tackling violent radicalisation.
The CRE and the future CEHR will be interested to know how this
policy will differ from previous attempts at the level of the
EU to address the root causes of terrorism. The CRE is concerned
that any new EU policy should pay serious consideration to the
discriminatory effects against certain groups of both policies
on and the general discourse about tackling violent radicalisation.
Debates in some EU member states have been very negative towards
Muslims communities. The CRE is keen that any policy to at tackle
violent radicalisation begins by outlining that only tiny numbers
of some religious groups resort to extremism and that a progressive
analysis of socio-economic factors is a necessary counterweight
to the debate and policies on tackling violent radicalisation.
Response by Roisin Donachie, Head of European
and International Relations, on the behalf of the Commission for
Racial Equality
24 April 2007
31 Fairness and Freedom: The Final Report of the Equalities
Review, Page 77 http://www.theequalitiesreview.org.uk/upload/assets/www.theequalitiesreview.org.uk/equalities-review---fairness-and-freedom.doc Back
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