The horizontal equal treatment directive is still unfinished after 18 years of negotiations, and ministers reminded each other of it again in Luxembourg on 19 October 2026. At the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council, Sweden, Luxembourg, Spain, the Netherlands, Estonia, Belgium and France called for its adoption, according to Agence Europe. The same day the Council approved conclusions presenting equality as a driver of economic growth and competitiveness.
Why the equal treatment directive is still stuck
The proposal would extend anti-discrimination protection beyond employment, which the EU already covers, into areas such as goods, services and education. The Commission tabled it in 2008, and it has never cleared the Council.
The legal reason the equal treatment directive stalls is simple. The treaty basis requires unanimity among member states, plus Parliament’s consent, so one government can stop it. Seven governments openly calling for adoption shows momentum, but it also shows that 20 others were not on the list.
That gap is the real obstacle. Any compromise has to accommodate national concerns about cost, scope and subsidiarity, and those concerns have not disappeared in nearly two decades.
What the Council conclusions add
The conclusions on equality and competitiveness are non-binding, but they set out the economic argument for acting. The argument is that unequal access to jobs and services wastes talent, and that labour shortages make that waste harder to justify.
Denmark gave one measure of the stakes, highlighting that gender-based violence costs the EU an estimated €366 billion a year, a figure attributed to the European Institute for Gender Equality. France presented its Pilote talent initiative, which has mobilised more than 2,000 companies to improve employment access for people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods and rural areas.
Not every government thought the text went far enough. Finland regretted that the conclusions lacked stronger wording on gender identity and LGBTIQ+ people. Spain proposed a common European response to conversion practices and a Council configuration dedicated to equality.
Can the equal treatment directive be unlocked?
There are three plausible routes. The first is a narrower text that keeps the core protections but trims the areas member states resist. The second is a package in which the directive travels with other social files, so that ministers can trade concessions. The third is to accept that unanimity will not arrive and to rely on case law and national legislation instead.
Each route to an equal treatment directive has costs. A slimmer text risks weaker protection, while a package risks delay. Waiting leaves people with very different legal protection depending on where they live.
Luxembourg also raised a newer problem: discrimination caused by biased data in artificial intelligence systems. If the equal treatment directive had been in force, it could have supplied a general framework. Without it, the EU relies on sector-specific rules whose scope may not cover every case.
What to watch next
The Irish presidency can keep the file on the agenda, but only a visible shift by one of the sceptical governments would change the arithmetic. Watch for whether the next Council discussion produces a revised text, whether the Commission signals willingness to amend its 2008 proposal, and whether Parliament renews pressure.
For now, the equal treatment directive remains a test of whether the EU can turn broad agreement on principle into binding law.
