In a ruling handed down on Thursday 18 December (case C-417/23), the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Danish legislation on public housing, based in particular on the proportion of “immigrants from non-Western countries and their descendants”, may, depending on the circumstances, constitute discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin, an assessment that it is up to the national court to make.
The law in question provides for a reduction in the number of public family housing units in certain “transformation areas” (formerly designated as “hard ghetto areas”), defined in particular by a threshold of more than 50% immigrants and their descendants.
The Court was asked by a Danish court to rule on disputes relating to the early termination of leases in areas of Slagelse and Copenhagen. The tenants concerned are contesting these measures, which they consider to be contrary to the prohibition on discrimination laid down in European Union law.
The Court recalled that ethnic origin could not be determined on the basis of a single criterion, such as nationality or country of birth, but was based on a combination of factors. It will therefore be up to the Danish courts to ascertain whether the criterion used by Danish law amounts, in practice, to distinguishing between residents on the basis of their ethnic origin and imposing less favourable treatment on them, in particular an increased risk of losing their home.
In the absence of direct discrimination, the national court will still have to examine the existence of indirect discrimination, within the meaning of EU Directive 2000/43 on racial equality.
See the Court’s judgement: https://aeur.eu/f/k4b (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)