European Union – Equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of arts 1, 2(1), and (2)(a) and (b) of Council Directive (EC) 2000/43, deciding, among other things, that a person could claim indirect discrimination under that directive by association with a group that was disadvantaged, even if the person did not belong to the same ethnic or racial group.