ABSTRACT
With the passage of the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999 and the introduction of Art 13 (Treaty of the European Communities), the European Union was granted new competence to combat discrimination. The Council has been empowered to take action against discrimination suffered on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation. The Council, acting unanimously, introduced Directive 2000/78/EC, which establishes a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation. This Directive requires a number of changes, primarily to the Employment Equality Act 1998 and, to a lesser extent, the Equal Status Act 2000. This has resulted in the introduction of the Equality Act 2004. Relevant amendments will be referenced throughout the text. These Equality Acts prohibit discrimination on nine grounds, disability being one of them.
