What Is The Equal Treatment Directive
The Equal Treatment Directive (ETD) is a legislative proposal on its way to become EU-wide binding law in all 28 Member States. Proposed in 2008 by the European Commission, it passed Parliament in 2010 and is since then being negotiated by the Council – the EU body composed of the Member State’s governments. The required unanimity to make it EU law has not been reached until now – but it could be at any moment.
| Intention | Reality |
|---|---|
| The intention of the ETD is to stop discrimination in the provision of goods and services. | The reality is that the ETD would turn freedom of contract from the rule to the exception; it would impose excessive bureaucratic burden and legal uncertainty; it would privilege few protected groups at the price of reducing freedom for all other citizens. |