Michael Cashman as Colin Russell (L) on EastEnders

The European Parliament has asked the European Commission to step up its work against discrimination faced by transgender people when purchasing or accessing goods and services.

This is the latest in a series of parliament requests in favour of transgender rights since 2010.

Drafted by Hungarian Socialist MEP Zita Gurmai, the report recalls that the Court of Justice of the European Union has repeatedly stated that discrimination of transgender people may amount to discrimination on grounds of sex.

In an amendment recently adopted, the European Parliament also called on the European Commission, in line with Court of Justice, to fully include discrimination on grounds of gender identity in future policy and legislation in the field of equality between women and men.

British Labour MEP and co-president of the LGBT Intergroup, Michael Cashman, said: “Transgender people face some of the harshest conditions in the European Union.

“In an EU study to be released next month, we learn that over a third of transgender people were physically attacked in the last five years. This shows all the violence and discrimination trans people face, and the EU must now take this as seriously as possible.”