The EU Race Directive: Developing the Protection against Racial Discrimination within the EU

In 2000, the European Union adopted a Directive against discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin. This book provides an in-depth evaluation of the Race Directive and its effects, questioning how successful the Race directive has been.

The EU Race Directive discusses the history of the fight against racial discrimination in the EU and the equality clauses in international Human Rights instruments. It then examines the terms race, racism and racial discrimination and equality in the Directive. The book also looks at the concepts of equality which can be distinguished in the Race Directive and in the subsequent developments at EU level. Examining whether the Directive has improved the protection against racial or ethnic origin discrimination for people within the EU, the book concludes with an assessment of how far the EU has come on the road to racial equality with the adoption of the Race Directive and the subsequent developments. It also contains proposals for possible improvements. The comprehensive and up-to-date analysis in this book goes beyond most other books written on the subject and the specific focus on racism and racial discrimination means a more thorough examination than most texts focusing on discrimination on a larger number of grounds.

This book will be of great value to students and academics in (European) law, social sciences and human rights, researching racism, racial discrimination, ethnicity and race relations. It will also be useful for policy makers.

Erica Howard is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Middlesex University.