The ‘European Year of Equal Opportunities for All’ has been adopted by the European Union as its core initiative for 2007 to encourage non-discrimination and equal opportunities. Its aim is to combat discrimination effectively, to promote diversity as a positive value and to encourage equal opportunities for all. The ‘European Year of Equal Opportunities for All’ is intend to signalise that non-discrimination and equal opportunities constitute an important component of human and civil rights and, thus, can lay claim to the highest priority within the European Union.

In recent years, three new EU anti-discrimination directives have been largely transposed into national law by EU Member States. In Germany, the Allgemeine Antidiskriminierungsgesetz (General law on anti-discrimination) came into force in August 2006. That law improves the legal protection for individuals who are unjustifiably disadvantaged on account of their ethnic origin or because of racial discrimination, or by reason of their sex, religion or belief, age or sexual orientation.

It is clear, however, that in order to eradicate or prevent discrimination occuring legal provisions alone are insufficient. Whilst anti-discrimination legislation offers protection at an individual level, it constitutes an inadequate tool, however, for bringing about change in the complex and, in part, deeply rooted behavioural patterns and prejudices which lead to the unequal treatment experienced by specific groups within society. Intensive efforts are necessary both at the level of politics and of civil society actively to encourage equal opportunities for all and to eradicate the structural and institutional barriers which stand in the way of participation by disadvantaged groups in all areas of life on an equal basis.

The population of the enlarged European Union is becoming increasingly diverse: immigration, individuals from differing ethnic/cultural backgrounds co-existing side by side, differing forms of family life taking root and, not least, changes in the age distribution to the population resulting from demographic developments all pose new challenges to European societies. In the next 25 years the population in the EU of working age is expected to fall by more than 20 million. Given those prospects, there is a pressing need to improve the opportunities for (im)migrants, people with disabilities, younger and older people as regards education and employment and in shaping their own lives. 

The European Commission has declared rights, representation, recognition and respect to be the central themes for the European Year 2007. The Commission’s objective is to raise people’s awareness on the right to equality, on the claim of all interest groupings to be represented in society, on the need to appreciate and recognise diversity as a resource and, thereby, on the basis of tolerance and respect, to strengthen the cohesion of European societies. In order to achieve these objectives, hundreds of activities from a local to a European level will be taking place in all Member States. The Commission has made 13.6 million euro available for these purposes. National implementation bodies have been created to coordinate the activities in individual Member States.

This dossier inquires into the state of equal opportunities in our country and in other European countries. Our authors, mainly members of various groups fighting for equal opportunities in their own societies, reveal problems and structures which prevent people who experience discrimination from being able to participate in life on a fair basis.

Judy Gummich and Florencio Chicote were responsible for creating and compiling this dossier. Both have been involved, from the perspective – all too often neglected – of people who experience discrimination, for many years in working towards the objectives of equal opportunities, diversity and overcoming discrimination and multiple discrimination.

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