European Union law and international minority rights law

Abstract

Interaction of EU norms and international law is widely discussed in literature however with some exceptions. The European Union's minority rights-related legislation, including both primary and secondary rules, is frequently criticised by minority groups themselves as well as academia. Though the criticism is not entirely unfounded, it is also true it was only by the enter into force of the Lisbon Treaty when an express provision that mentions the rights of minorities was put into the text of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU). The famous article 2 of TEU, however does not provide a sufficient grounding on which relevant secondary EU norm could be adopted by the legislative organs of the European Union. For these reasons it looks inevitable to seek alternative ways of improving the EU law on minority rights, for instance by examining how international minority rights law might affect EU law.