EU Parliament adopts discrimination policy

STRASBOURG, France, May 20 (UPI) -- The European Parliament adopted a resolution Tuesday calling on the European Commission to adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination policy.

The resolution says there should be no discrimination based on gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. It passed 362 to 262 with 56 abstentions.

Existing European legislation covers only workplace discrimination. The commission recently suggested it would adopt a policy only barring discrimination against the disabled, instead of a comprehensive policy that would extend discrimination policy to other areas.

"The need for more anti-discrimination laws at EU level is a subject of lively political debates," EU Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimir Spidla said Tuesday. "But let's be clear, this debate is not about whether to fight against discrimination but how to do it in the most efficient way."