On 20 November, the “caretaker” Commission had a busy day sending reasoned opinions to several member states, including the UK. The reasoned opinion is the second stage of the infringement procedure, whereby the Commission states the infringement and requires the Member State to remove it within a specified time limit. Then, if the Member State does not comply with the reasoned opinion, the Commission may refer the case to the Court of Justice.
The Commission has sent a reasoned opinion to the UK for “incorrectly implementing” the Employment Equality Directive, adopted in 2000. The directive prohibits discrimination based on religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in employment and occupation. According to the Commission the UK law does not provide for a “clear ban on 'instruction to discriminate'” or for “clear appeals procedure in the case of disabled people.” Moreover, the Commission has pointed out that “exceptions to the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for religious employers are broader than that permitted by the directive.”
The Commission also believes that the UK's equality laws are inadequate. Hence, it has sent a reasoned opinion to the UK for failing to fully implement Directive 2002/73/EC on equal treatment for men and women in employment.
Vladimír Špidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, asked the Government to amend, as soon as possible, the anti-discrimination and gender equality laws in order to comply with the EU rules. The Government believes that the new Equality Bill will address the issues raised by the Commission. In fact, Vladimír Špidla, welcomed the Bill and hopes “it will come into force quickly.”
As a result of the infringement procedure the UK has recently amended its legislation on the recognition of medical prescriptions. Nevertheless, the Commission considered that “the UK legislation still failed to guarantee the recognition of medical prescriptions issued by health professionals established in other Member States in accordance with Article 49 of the EC Treaty.” Consequently, the Commission has sent a supplementary reasoned opinion. The Commission has deemed as disproportionate the UK non recognition of medical prescriptions issued by Community health professionals for 'controlled drugs' categories of medicines for which a special medical prescription is not required. The Commission also considers “disproportionate in relation to the objective of protecting public health” requiring the address and age of the patient to be indicated on medical prescriptions for them to be recognized in the UK. The UK has two months to provide the Commission with a “satisfactory reply” otherwise it may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.
Furthermore, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion to the UK for failure to communicate the full transposition of the Directive 2004/8/EC on the promotion of cogeneration based on a useful heat demand in the internal energy market.
