The Court of Justice of the EU and ‘Minorities

The analysis of the CJEU's jurisprudence of relevance to minorities has revealed a rather mixed picture measured against the interrelated benchmarks of equality, identity and participation. On the one hand, the cases confirm how questions of substantive equal access and equal recognition in terms of particular identity markers, affect minorities' full and equal participation (in society). On the other, it was shown that the CJEU tends to be guided by the market integration model and the related safeguarding of the free movement rights, in the sense that human rights are protected insofar as they are seen to contribute to market integration, or at least do not hinder or constrain the internal market. The former makes the protection of minorities rather a collateral benefit of the strong protection of free movement rights. The latter confirms the CJEU's willingness to constrain national policy making and the policies and practices of firms in order to protect fundamental rights (of persons belonging to minorities).