In an open letter addressed to President Monti and some of his government ministers, the Radical Association Certi Diritti, Arcigay, FISH (Italian Federation for the Overcoming of Disability), and ENAR (European Network Against Racism) are calling on the Italian government to exercise its leadership to unblock the new anti-discrimination directive pending before the Council of the European Union.
All of Europe is looking to the next European Council for the important decisions it will have to take on economic matters.
We would also like to hear good news regarding the draft European Directive against all forms of discrimination: already approved by the Commission and Parliament, it has been sitting on the table of the Council of the European Union (the other intergovernmental institution that, together with the European Council, directs the governance of the Union) for over two years, blocked by the cross-vetoes of several countries, including Germany and Italy.
This is a Directive of the utmost importance because it extends to all categories of potential discrimination the protection already provided for in the employment sector (with Directive No. 78 of 2000) and on grounds of ethnic origin and against racism (with Directive No. 43 of 2000), completing the European regulatory framework outlined in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
It is therefore a matter of extending the principle of non-discrimination to all areas of life for people at risk of discrimination based on their age, disability, sexual orientation, or religion. Religious fundamentalist lobbies and Europe's shortsightedness against social inclusion have joined forces to oppose this directive, and for the moment, they have prevailed.
