Roma in the European Union: Structural Barriers to Fundamental Rights

This thesis focuses on the effects of European Union expansion on Roma populations throughout Europe. The EU instituted a number of policies intended to help European Roma, one of the most persecuted minority groups on the continent, but rather than significantly improving quality of life for this population, in many places relations between Roma and greater European society have worsened. I introduce the topic by reviewing the legal frameworks created for this purpose, and discussing existing literature that examines the pitfalls of EU Roma policies. Next, I argue that through europeanization and profit-oriented migration policies, the EU has furthered the marginalization of Roma across Europe and created an atmosphere unsympathetic to Roma issues. I analyze the identity frame of Roma promoted by europeanization, which allows states and EU administrative bodies to divert responsibility for helping Roma populations. I then illustrate the ways in which EU migration policy sidelines impoverished groups in favor of skilled workers. This practice disproportionately harms Roma migrants, who commonly work within the scope of the informal economy, and allows for expulsions and other discriminatory practices to persist. I conclude my argument by reiterating the ways in which EU Roma policy has had the opposite of its intended effect, and suggest ways to correct the deficiencies of current measures