The EU'S role in the fight against racism and xenophobia: Evaluation and prospects after Amsterdam and Tampere

The Treaty of Amsterdam has strengthened the possibility of the European Union (EU) adopting measures in the fight against racism and xenophobia. These can be based both on the extended non-discrimination clause of Article 13 TEC and new Article 29 TEU relating to common action in the context of the area of freedom security and justice. So far EU action has concentrated on public awareness measures, increasing the exchange and the analysis of information on racism and xenophobia, and improving judicial cooperation and cross-border training in this area. The scope of EU action continues to be limited, however, because of the absence of a 'mainstreaming clause', very limited funding and structural deficits in the decision-making system. Both the new Amsterdam Treaty provisions and the renewed emphasis placed on the fight against racism and xenophobia by the Tampere European Council of October 1999 should be used for extending the EU's role in this area which is of crucial importance to its credibility as a political community. © 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers.