A European Commission decision not to include age, sexual orientation or religion in new rules to tackle discrimination at work is a ‘scandal’ Dutch members of the European parliament say in Thursday’s Volkskrant.

The new proposal only adds discrimination against people with a handicap to the existing ban on discrimination on the grounds of race or sex.
‘Europe should not be leaving gay people out, but playing a leading role in gay emancipation,’ Kathalijne Buitenweg, an MEP with the left-wing green party GroenLinks was quoted as saying.
Christian Democrat MEPs said in the Telegraaf that the decision gives completely the wrong signal.
It puts Commission chairman Manuel Barroso’s credibility on the line, says liberal democrat MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld. And blaming resistance from other EU countries was an ‘extremely weak’ argument, she tells the Volkskrant.
The Commission is prepared to clash with other member states about issues such as energy and terrorism, so why not on homosexuality, In ‘t Veld is quoted as saying.
Dutch gay rights lobby group COC says the proposal gives the impression that it is worse to discriminate against people who have a handicap than on the grounds of age or sexual orientation.