Finding Fundamental Fairness: Protecting the Rights of Homosexuals under European Union Accession Law

In tackling the issue of sexual orientation discrimination, the European Union must make significant efforts to conform or, perhaps, eradicate incongruous legislation within Applicant Countries. The difficulty of this endeavor is two-fold: first, in terms of the number and complexity of the laws of each Applicant Country; and, second, in the absence of any detailed and systematic documentation of sexual orientation discrimination within those same Applicant Countries. Compounding, if not confounding, such legitimate endeavors are the inconsistent anti-gay legislation prevalent within the present Member States. The stakes are high for Member States and Applicant Countries alike. Thus, the European Union\u27s enlargement process may serve as proper method to end sexual orientation discrimination and provide protections for homosexuals within the European Union and in those countries that wish to become part of the European Union