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

Abstract

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.

Implementing Social Europe in Times of Crises: Re-established Boundaries of Welfare?

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Europeanisation Through Mobility: Visa Liberalisation and Citizenship Regimes in the Western Balkans

“…Moreover, in the context of the EU, rights instruments can be seen as part of the structure of multi-level governance in the Union, and in this sense non-discrimination is one of the most developed components of the social dimension of European integration (Mabbett, 2005). This component was streamlined through the visa liberalisation roadmaps in the requirement of these countries to adopt a framework law on antidiscrimination.…”

The Europeanization of Gender Equality Policies

“…EU principles and legislation relating to antidiscrimination were particularly important due to both their direct and indirect influence. Two features of EU antidiscrimination law are especially important to mention here: first, with the Amsterdam Treaty, the EU took a decidedly rights-based approach to its fight against discrimination (Mabbett, 2005). This approach underlines the recognition of entitlements rights and of US-style adversarial legalism (Kagan, 2001).…”