Angela Filote, European Commission Spokesperson for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, issued the following official statement:

“The European Commission calls upon the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to ensure that its comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation is in line with the acquis.

The anti-discrimination rules established in the EU’s legal order (through Directives 2000/43 and 2000/78) concern discrimination  based on race, ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief and disability. The rules apply in a number of sectors, including employment, access to social services and others. The Commission expects the country to comply with the EU requirements in all these fields.

The Commission considers that in order to meet these requirements the recently enacted antidiscrimination legislation will need to be amended in order to include explicit prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sexual discrimination.”