Article Title

A Home for the Roma: Why Strict Enforcement of Migration Laws is Necessary for a United EU

Publication Title

Washington University Global Studies Law Review


This Note will examine the responsibilities that EU law places on member states regarding migration management, discuss the European Commission’s power and willingness to enforce those laws, and consider incentives for states to implement them. Further, it will analyze the recent conflicts between the EU and particular member states in terms of human rights and migration policy, most notably France’s deportation of the Roma people. The principal question is whether France’s course of action is an aberration—the result of a nation concerned about a specific perceived internal problem—or instead a manifestation of a deeper desire among the original member states to reject social legislation by an EU over which they have decreasing control.