Introduction

Amongst the most exciting of the new possibilities in the Amsterdam Treaty is the provision enabling European legislation to be made in relation to equality and non-discrimination. This provision is contained in Article 13 EC, which as then agreed, stated:

It was clear from the outset that action under Article 13 depended for its content on proposals from the European Commission. As soon as the Amsterdam Treaty was agreed the Commission began to mull this over. There was time to do this. Although the Amsterdam Treaty was signed by the high representatives on 2 October 1997 it required ratification by each Member State to come into effect. This was not concluded until 1 May 1999, and the hiatus provided a useful opportunity for some preliminary consideration as to the effect that would be given to it. For this purpose the Commission held a major conference over 3 and 4 December 1998 to discuss what could and should be done with Article 13.