The Development of Rights-Based Social Policy in the European Union: The Example of Disability Rights

This article examines the development of non-discrimination rights in the EU, with particular reference to disability. It outlines the origins of Article 13 TEC, which extended the competence of the Community institutions to combat discrimination, and traces the history of other initiatives in the disability policy area. Programmatic and juridical methods of promoting equality are described and compared. The analysis considers both the different institutional obstacles to programmatic and juridical methods, and the different consequences for the substantive content of policy of pursuing programmatic and juridical approaches.

[1]  Laura Cram,et al.  The European commission as a multi-organisation: Social policy and IT policy in the EU , 1994 .

[2]  D. Mabbett.  Learning by numbers: The role of indicators in the social inclusion process , 2004 .

[3]  G. Búrca.  The Language of Rights and European Integration , 1995 .

[4]  P. Lange.  Maastricht and the Social Protocol: Why Did They Do It? , 1993 .

[5]  B. Doyle.  Disability, Discrimination and Equal Opportunities: A Comparative Study of the Employment Rights of Disabled Persons , 1995 .

[6]  G. Marks,et al.  Social movements and the changing structure of political opportunity in the European union 1 , 1996 .

[7]  J. Weiler,et al.  An 'Ever Closer Union' in Need of a Human Rights Policy: The European Union and Human Rights , 1998 .

[8]  Lisa Conant,et al.  Justice Contained: Law and Politics in the European Union , 2002 .

[9]  Colin Barnes,et al.  Disabled people and social policy from exclusion to inclusion , 1999 .

[10]  P. Twomey,et al.  Legal issues of the Amsterdam Treaty , 1999 .

[11]  María Bustelo,et al.  The EU and Human Rights , 2000 .

[12]  K. Alter.  The European Union's Legal System and Domestic Policy: Spillover or Backlash? , 2000, International Organization.

[13]  Barry R. Weingast,et al.  7. Ideas, Interests, and Institutions: Constructing the European Community’s Internal Market , 2019 .

[14]  J. Shaw.  Social law and policy in an evolving European Union , 2000 .

[15]  G. Marks,et al.  Governance in the European Union , 1996 .

[16]  Rosemary Kayess,et al.  The Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities , 2007 .

[17]  L. Waddington.  Testing the Limits of the EC Treaty Article on Non-Discrimination , 1999 .

[18]  F. Scharpf.  Governing in Europe: Effective and Democratic? , 1999 .

[19]  B. Peters.  Escaping the joint‐decision trap: Repetition and Sectoral politics in the European union , 1997 .

[20]  Paul Abberley.  The Politics of Disablement , 1992 .

[21]  D. Caruso.  Limits of the Classic Method: Positive Action in the European Union After the New Equality Directives , 2003 .

[22]  Graham Room.  Social Quality of Europe: Perspectives on Social Exclusion , 1997 .

[23]  Bruce C. Fitz-Patrick.  Converse Pyramids and the EU Social Constitution , 2000 .

[24]  S. Fredman.  Equality: A New Generation? , 2001 .

[25]  R. Geyer.  Exploring European Social Policy , 2000 .

[26]  B. Hepple.  Green Paper: European Social Policy Options for the Union , 1994 .

[27]  The Evolving European Employment Strategy , 2000 .

[28]  S. Sciarra.  The Employment Title in the Amsterdam Treaty: A Multi-Language Legal Discourse , 1999 .

[29]  M. Dougan.  Economic and Social Rights Under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights ¿ A Legal Perspective , 2004 .

[30]  T. H. Marshall,et al.  Citizenship and Social Class , 1987 .

[31]  M. Bell.  Beyond European Labour Law? Reflections on the EU Racial Equality Directive , 2002 .

[32]  W. Streeck.  Neo‐Voluntarism: A New European Social Policy Regime? , 1995 .

[33]  J. Richardson,et al.  Policy framing: Interest groups and the lead up to 1996 inter‐governmental conference , 1997 .