As part of the ongoing cooperation between the Research Service of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Institute of Legal Studies (Budapest, Hungary), an educational webinar was held on the topic “EU Non-Discrimination Law”.
The lecture was delivered by Dr. Sára Hungler, Senior Research Fellow at the HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences, Institute of Legal Studies (Budapest, Hungary).
The webinar addressed the following key topics:
• the foundations of the principle of equality in EU law, including relevant provisions of the EU founding treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;
• the evolution of EU anti-discrimination legislation – from its initial focus on the protection of women’s rights to a comprehensive approach covering all grounds of discrimination (such as sex, age, racial or ethnic origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, etc.);
• an analysis of key EU directives: Directive 2000/43/EC (on racial equality), Directive 2000/78/EC (general framework directive), and Directive 2006/54/EC (on equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation);
• landmark judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) that establish and reinforce the principle of non-discrimination as a general principle of EU law, including Mangold, Commission v. Hungary, Commission v. Poland, Egenberger, and Cresco;
• the doctrine of the horizontal effect of social rights and its implications for private legal relationships, particularly in the field of labour law;
• the burden of proof in discrimination cases and the requirement for sanctions to be effective, proportionate, and dissuasive;
• the role of national courts in ensuring effective judicial protection in accordance with Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.
The webinar contributed to a deeper understanding of the legal foundations of the EU’s non-discrimination policy, highlighted the close connection between EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights, and underscored the important role of case law in shaping unified human rights protection standards across all EU Member States.
In accordance with subparagraph 4, paragraph 10 of the Regulation on the Research Service of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Research Service has prepared this informational reference on its own initiative:
https://research.rada.gov.ua/uploads/documents/33575.pdf
