WELDI baseline report

and in dependency on employers
and recruitment agencies, thereby
making it difficult for workers to
access information and effectively
defend their rights. For local authorities,
economic migration often plays
out as a process that is managed in
grey areas outside formal reception
and support systems.
The recently revised EU’s single
permit directive is a case in point,
which in its previous version from
2011 was found to foster exploitative
practices. Through a very loose
approach of regulating member
state practice, the directive allowed
member states to tie a permit to a
specific employer, creating dependency,
and to be very lax about inspections
of working conditions and
fines for exploitative employers. 16
These shortcomings have now been
addressed in a recast directive which
is expected to be adopted in early
2024. But migrant workers, whatever
their status, remain in a precarious
situation and should be a main
preoccupation for local authorities
and the EU alike.
WELDI - Baseline report
Reinvigorating
the fight against
discrimination and
racism from below
The 2000 EU Racial Equality directives
were an early milestone in defining
a European human rights-based
approach to protect minorities,
including migrants. However, more
than 20 years on, challenges regarding
the implementation of the
directive seem only to grow. The
EU-MIDIS survey 17 with members of
ethnic or immigrant background in
Europe has shown a serious under-reporting
of discrimination (only
12% report) and an unawareness of
support (71%). It is openly acknowledged
today that there are serious
deficiencies in particular with the
independent equality bodies that are
tasked with monitoring discrimination
in each member state. 18 These
problems are directly related to a
weakening political commitment
to fighting discrimination against
migrants and other minorities across
16
See the joint NGO statement “Break the chain of dependency and promote equal treatment of migrant
workers” (2023)
17
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights 2017. Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination
Survey – Main results.
the EU, in particular in those countries
that are governed by parties
that openly reject migrants and
minorities.
While local governments are still
not considered central actors in the
EU non-discrimination framework,
the present crisis could provide
committed local authorities with the
opportunity to become protagonists
in increasing rights awareness and
protection against discrimination.
Local experiences such as campaigns
against discrimination, rights-awareness
training for local service providers
and the setup of local bodies
for monitoring discrimination and
support to victims are some of the
practices through which local authorities
can help to reinvigorate an
EU approach against discrimination
at a time when it seems to have lost
momentum. This potential is also
acknowledged in the EU Anti-Racism
Action Plan. 19
Cornerstones of
a local approach
to defending the
human rights of
migrants
The previous section illustrated
some of the ways in which migrants’
rights are violated in Europe today,
and how many vulnerabilities manifest
themselves locally, in the form
of the irregularisation and precarisation
of migrants, unsupportive
asylum reception and inadequate
protection against labour market
exploitation and discrimination. The
current political debate, unfortunately,
is more concerned with curbing
arrivals than with improving the
situation for those who continue to
arrive. So we end this context section
highlighting some key elements
18
European Commission 2021. Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council
on the application of Council Directive 2000/43/EC implementing the principle of equal treatment
between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (‘the Racial Equality Directive’) and of Council
Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation
(‘the Employment Equality Directive’)
19
European Commission 2020. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the
Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. A Union of
equality : EU anti-racism action plan 2020-2025
Setting the context 13