Equality of third country nationals (TCNs) twenty years after Tampere: EU and ECHR protection

This article reflects on the exclusion of legally residing migrants within the EU from protection on the ground of nationality. In addressing this question, the work analyses the development of the principle of non-discrimination based on nationality and race and the legal framework of equality clauses provided in the Migration Directives granting equality of treatment to specific categories of TCNs. The standard of protection under EU law will be compared with that under art. 14 of the ECHR in order to investigate whether twenty years after the Tampere Conclusions the EU is still lying behind the ECHR as to the equality of treatment of TCNs. The paper considers the differences of protection under the two systems. It then questions whether the differences are mainly related to the fragmented approach of the EU legislature regulating the status of TCNs. It concludes making suggestions on how to overcome the resulting gap.