Explaining Factors Affecting Compliance

Abstract

The Racial Equality and the Employment Equality Directives constitute the core of the EU’s anti-discrimination legislation. The Directives ask for the establishment of the right to equality before the law, for member states’ active involvement in the fight against racism and discrimination, and for the creation of adequate legal protection against discrimination. They emphasize the need for continuous dissemination of information to the targeted parties, as well as promotion of social dialogue and involvement of equality bodies. By now, all of the member states of the EU have formally transposed at least some, if not all, of the provisions of these Directives into their national laws. Therefore, the core issue of this study is to examine the underlying causes of variation in actual compliance with these legally binding instruments. This chapter explores the theoretical landscape to derive explanations of why some EU member states are more compliant than others.