Implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation : impact assessment of the proposal for a Council Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, as well as amendments 37 and 41 of the European Parliament

In 2008, the European Commission presented a proposal for a Directive to address discrimination outside the workplace based on the grounds of age, disability, sexual orientation, and on religion or belief. While the European Parliament and Member States generally supported the proposal, some Member States have expressed concerns, among others, in relation to the potential costs of the proposed Directive, its lack of legal certainty and the lack of assessment of the costs and benefits that its implementation would place on service providers. This study has therefore been commissioned by the European Parliament to facilitate agreement on the proposal by providing insight into possible costs for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and public service providers. While most of the costs related to equal treatment measures will be very low, the assessment shows also that a range of costs for these actors have a potential to be significant. These could be related to measures ensuring equal treatment when accessing goods and services and living in the community of persons with disabilities, in health care of older persons, and in access to social advantages of same sex partnerships. However, given the broad approach taken in the proposed Directive, it has been concluded that Member States would have significant scope to implement the proposal in a way which allows them to limit costs. The assessment considers by means of example possible impacts on SMEs and public service providers in the Czech Republic, Germany, Romania, Spain, and Sweden. This assessment has been carried out without prejudice to the obligations arising from the Treaty of the European Union and other European and international fundamental rights instruments for Member States and European institutions. It is complementary to the Commission's impact assessment accompanying the proposal and does not re-examine possible implementation costs and benefits to individuals and society in general.