Assessing Gaps in the Racial Equality Directive

The “Equinet Brief: Assessing Gaps in the Racial Equality Directive”, draws from previous existing Equinet studies that have explored the challenges faced by equality bodies at the national level in relation to the implementation of Council Directive 2000/43/EC (Racial Equality Directive). Within the document, areas of concern for equality bodies are highlighted through the exploration of legislative gaps within the Directive. This Assessment identified among others: 

• The necessary expansion of the Racial Equality Directive to cover the field of law enforcement in its material scope 
• A need for binding legislation on standards to ensure greater independence for equality bodies. 

• Redress and stronger sanctions to prevent societal harm and act as incentives to change 
• Demand for an explicit provision of a mandate on hate speech to ensure a more comprehensive strategy against hate crimes. 

This document aims to contribute to the work that the Commission undertook to pursue in the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan and the Implementation Report on the Racial Equality Directive and the Employment Equality Directive by providing guidance on actions that could be taken to strengthen current legislation.