Charles Explorer logo
🇬🇧

Reverse discrimination in the context of EU citizenship

Publication at Faculty of Law |
2014

Abstract

The contribution deals with two types of reverse discrimination in the context of EU citizenship. Firstly it deals with the situation when EU Member state gives less favourable treatment to its own EU citizens than to EU citizens of other Member states.

Secondly it deals with the situation when EU Member state gives less favourable treatment to EU citizens than to citizens of third countries. As to the first type of reverse discrimination it is specified that it can occur in four different constellations.

Firstly as a consequence of EU law principle of mutual recognition of certain national laws of Member states. Secondly as a consequence of exercising the option by Member state to deviate in more stringent way from minimal requirements of certain EU directives.

Thirdly as a consequence of not exercising the option by Member state to deviate in less stringent way from requirements of certain EU directives. Fourthly as a consequence of inapplicability of certain EU rules to purely internal situations.As to the first type of reverse discrimination it is also analysed, whether it should remain outside the scope of EU law.

In this respect it is submitted that it should, because otherwise Member states would be to certain extent stripped of their regulatory autonomy. This could be against the principle of subsidiarity as well.

As to the second type of reverse discrimination it is mentioned recent Akdas case in which Court of Justice of the EU accepted that Turkish nationals may enjoy under EU law a right denied to EU citizens.