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Nikolaus van der Pas |
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The European Union is a large and diverse community that embodies the customs and cultures of many different people. This diversity is reflected across all sectors of society, but especially in the labour market where we come together as colleagues on a daily basis. In order to uphold the integrity of this unique community, EU legislation has been designed to make it illegal to discriminate in employment and training on the grounds of religion and belief, disability, age and sexual orientation.
Legislation, however, can only be successfully applied if employers and employees are actually aware of their rights and responsibilities. European and national anti-discrimination legislation do not only protect people from unfair treatment in employment but also promote the positive values of a more diverse workforce. A diverse staff enables a variety of opportunities and benefits for businesses.
The concept of diversity in employment has only recently become an issue of public debate in the EU 25. Although antidiscrimination legislation applies to companies of any size, it is still mostly multinational corporations and global players that are aware of the benefits of diversity and that have adopted diversity policies.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute a vital part of the European economy. There are approximately 23 million SMEs in the EU providing around 75 million jobs. Therefore, it is essential that SMEs know about European antidiscrimination rules and are aware of the benefits diversity strategies can bring to their businesses. Because of this, the key objectives of this conference are to respond to the awareness raising, information and training needs of SMEs on diversity issues.
Your experiences and good practices examples in working with diversity in a SME business context make an absolutely crucial contribution to this end. I am delighted that you have the possibility, here in Limassol, to exchange and discuss experiences. I wish all of you a successful conference, beneficial to all of our future work.
Nikolaus van der Pas,
Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Director General at the European Commission
