Background documents on the European Year 2007
The year 2007 was officially designated the “European Year of Equal Opportunities for All” at the end of May 2006, after a final decision by the European Council and the Parliament.
The objectives of this European Year 2007 are:
- to make people in the EU more aware of their rights not to be discriminated against
- to promote equal opportunities in various areas, from healthcare to the workplace
- to show how diversity makes the EU stronger.
The proposal to have a European Year on Equal Opportunities was made by the Commission after a consultation process on its Green Paper on equality and non-discrimination in an enlarged EU in 2004. Many respondents to this consultation had indicated that the EU should reinforce its efforts to combat discrimination on grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation following the enlargement, and called for greater public awareness around non-discrimination. The consultation also highlighted the need to work on increasing the impact of current EC anti-discrimination legislation. See also ( Commission Communication on Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunities for all – A Framework Strategy)
