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Beyond European Labour Law? Reflections on the EU Racial Equality Directive
Author(s) -
Bell Mark
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
european law journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.351
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1468-0386
pISSN - 1351-5993
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0386.00159
Subject(s) - directive , european union , labour law , legislation , political science , context (archaeology) , enforcement , racism , law , position (finance) , racial equality , law enforcement , scope (computer science) , business , international trade , geography , archaeology , finance , computer science , programming language
In June 2000, the Council adopted a directive forbidding discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin in the areas of employment, social protection, education, goods and services, and housing. This is the first time the European Union has adopted binding legislation to combat racism. In this article, the Directive is placed within the context of European labour law, and its implications for the development of this area of law are considered. Specifically, it is proposed that a new category of European ‘social law’ is emerging, broader in scope than European ‘labour law’. The Directive also reveals a new emphasis on effective enforcement of social law. Finally, this article considers the position of the Social Partners and non‐governmental organisations in relation to the Directive. The prominence of NGOs is linked to wider trends in the wake of globalisation.