Discrimination(s) as emerging from petitions received

This study, which was commissioned by the Committee for Petitions of the European Parliament, analyses a sample of forty petitions related to anti-discrimination law received by that Committee. These petitions are quite heterogeneous in terms of the respondent entity (the European Union or the Member States), the grounds of discrimination at issue (race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, nationality, age, disability, language, national minority or sex), and the legal sources invoked (the CFR or EU law in general). The fields where instances of discrimination allegedly occurred are also rather different. This study aims to scrutinise the issues stemming from the petitions received, with a view to providing a number of recommendations to the EP on how to deal with similar cases. The first two chapters pave the way for the analysis – in chapter three - of the petitions in order to ascertain whether they fall within the scope of application of EU law and, if so, which EU legal source is applicable. Also, the respective positions on the petitions taken by the PETI Committee and the European Commission – which in some cases diverge to a significant extent – are examined. Based on the outcomes of the analysis of petitions in the fourth and final chapter the authors provide suggestions on alternative models of reply which may help to strike a balance between the duty to comply with the CJEU’s stance on the boundaries of EU competence and the need to satisfy the legitimate expectations of the petitioners.