"Whilst the European Community (EC) has adopted and implemented instruments of disability policy since the mid 1970s, it only acquired the power to address disability discrimination in 1999 with the coming into force of the Amsterdam Treaty. The potential of the new Article 13 EC was quickly acted upon, and the Employment Equality Directive, which prohibits employment related discrimination with regard to inter alia disability, was adopted in 2000." (Quoted from paper)