1. Time for Action to Advance LGBTI Equality
Wester Meijdam
DG Justice and Consumers – European Commission, Bologna 4 June

2. The EU in brief
The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union between 28 European countries The EU is based on the rule of law: everything it does is founded on treaties, voluntary and democratically agreed by its member countries. The EU is governed by the principle of representative democracy, with citizens directly represented at Union level in the European Parliament and Member States represented in the European Council and the Council of the EU. The European Commission is the EU's politically independent executive arm. It is responsible for drawing up proposals for new European legislation, and it implements the decisions of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
The EU was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The first steps were to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries that trade with one another become economically interdependent and so more likely to avoid conflict.
The result was the European Economic Community (EEC), created in 1958, and initially increasing economic cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Mobility, growth, stability and a single currency
The EU has delivered more than half a century of peace, stability and prosperity, helped raise living standards and launched a single European currency: the euro. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.
Thanks to the abolition of border controls between EU countries, people can travel freely throughout most of the continent. And it has become much easier to live, work and travel abroad in Europe.
The single or 'internal' market is the EU's main economic engine, enabling most goods, services, money and people to move freely. Another key objective is to develop this huge resource also in other areas like energy, knowledge and capital markets to ensure that Europeans can draw the maximum benefit from it.

3. European Commission
Political leadership is provided by a team of 28 Commissioners (one from each EU country) and led by the Commission President. The day-to-day running of Commission business is performed by its staff, that are organised into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs), each responsible for a specific policy area.

4. EU Legislation Legal Basis for Action
Art.19 TFEU
“ … the Council acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission and after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament, may take appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.”

5. Charter of Fundamental Rights
Article 21: Non-discrimination
1. Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.

6. LGBTI Definitions
A Lesbian is a woman whose enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction is to other women.
Gay is often used to describe a man whose enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction is to other men, although the term can be used to describe
both gay men and lesbians.
Bisexual describes an individual who is physically, romantically and/or emotionally attracted to both men and women. Transgender describes people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.
The term intersex covers bodily variations in regard to culturally established standards of maleness and femaleness, including variations at the level of chromosomes, gonads and genitals.

7. Social Acceptance
The Netherlands Institute for Social Research (Graph)
World Value Survey (Data)

8. Social Acceptance
The Netherlands Institute for Social Research (Graph)
World Value Survey (Data)

9. Social Acceptance
Source: Eurobarometer on Discrimination in the EU 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2015*
*The number of EU MS has changed since 2006 and the wording of the question has slightly changed over the years, which both influence the possibility to compare the data from each survey.

10. Highest political office

11. Colleagues who are LGB

12. Transgender Colleague

13. Civil Documents

14. FRA LGBT Survey

15. Transgender population
OII: The four objectives are:
1.To challenge the definition of sex as consisting of only male and female and promote the knowledge that sex is a continuum, as is gender.
2.To ensure that intersex people are fully protected against discrimination. To achieve this we recommend the adoption of anti-discrimination legislation on the ground of sex characteristics – regardless of the specific appearance or configuration of these characteristics. Sex characteristics refer to the chromosomal, gonadal and anatomical features of a person, which include primary characteristics such as reproductive organs and genitalia and/or chromosomal structures and hormones; and secondary characteristics such as, but not limited to, muscle mass, hair distribution, breasts and/or stature.
3.To ensure that all stakeholders that have a specific role to play in intersex people’s wellbeing such as, but not limited to, health care providers, parents and professionals working in the area of education, as well as society in general, are instructed on intersex issues from a human rights perspective.
4.To work towards making non-consensual medical and psychological treatment unlawful. Medical practitioners or other professionals should not conduct any treatment to the purpose of modifying sex characteristics which can be deferred until the person to be treated can provide informed consent.
In view of these objectives the European Intersex meeting calls on the European Union and the Council of Europe as well as national governments, to take on board intersex issues in their work and provide full protection for intersex people.
Transgender
In European societies people are exclusively perceived as either men or women.
People whose gender identity or gender expression differs from these socially accepted norms fall between the cracks.
Trans people either permanently or during transition challenge these norms. As a result they may face ridicule, discrimination, unemployment, social exclusion and violence at the hands of individuals and institutions. TGEU was founded as a
response, to strengthen the trans movement and to provide a consistent voice at European level. Because trans rights are
human rights. Transgender or Trans is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity or expression differs from the sex assigned to them at birth.

16. List of Actions I. Improving rights of LGBTI people and
their families in key areas of
EU competence.
II. Strong monitoring and enforcement of
existing rights of LGBTI people under
EU law
III. Reaching citizens, fostering diversity
and non-discrimination
IV. Supporting key actors responsible
to advance LGBTI rights in the EU
V. Figures and facts for policy makers on
LGBTI challenges: Data collection and
research activities
VI. External action: LGBTI issues in
Enlargement, Neighbourhood and
Third countries.

17. Improving Rights
1 Grounds of discrimination: Race, Ethnic Origin, Age, Religion or Belief, Sexual Orientation, Sex, Disability
2 Areas of protection: employment, social protection (including social security), healthcare, education, housing, and access to good and services

18. The Proposed Equal Treatment Directive: Filling the gaps
\Grounds
Field
Race
Religion
Disability
Age
Sexual
orientation
Sex
Employment & vocational training
Yes +
Equality body
Yes
Education No
Goods and services
Social protection

19. Monitoring and enforcement of existing rights of LGBTI people
- Directives on Gender Equality in Employment and Occupation and on Access to Supply of Good and Services, Case Law CJEU on Gender Reassignment.
- Victims of Crime Directive
- Asylum, Qualification Directive

20. - High Level Group Non-Discrimination, Equality and Diversity
Supporting key actors responsible to advance LGBTI rights in the EU and raising awareness
Member States
- High Level Group Non-Discrimination, Equality and Diversity
- Best practises exchanges
NGO's
- Financial support through the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme ( , budget EUR 439 million), with nine priorities: promote non-discrimination, combat racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other forms of intolerance, promote rights of persons with disabilities…
(ILGA Europe, TGEU and IGLYO)
Businesses
- 16 Diversity Charters for Businesses, Companies, 14 Million Employees

21. Health - Depathologisation in review ICD
- Health inequalities experienced by LGBTI people

22. Data collection and research activities
- Gender recognition legislation study
- Supporting FRA
- Eurobarometer
- Tolerance and
Diversity in education

23. LGBTI equality in Enlargement, Neighbourhood and Third countries
- Monitoring implementation legislation and actions
- Guidelines to promote and protect the enjoyment of all human rights by LGBTI persons
- European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR)