After the Framework Directive: Combating discrimination outside employment

In November 2000, the Council of the European Union adopted the Framework Directive on Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation. This Directive, which enters into force on 2 December 2003, forbids discrimination in employment on grounds of religion or belief, age, disability, or sexual orientation. It is a first, important step for the European Union in combating the entrenched social and legal discrimination that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people face across the Member States. This paper examines the next steps for the European Union in combating discrimination. In particular, it argues that there is a clear need for the Union to move quickly to complement the measures introduced in the area of employment with further legislation designed to prohibit discrimination in other spheres of life, such as healthcare, education, and housing.