EU antidiscrimination law gained legal basis but excludes nationality as a protected ground

Evidence

A more positive aspect is the introduction of an antidiscrimination clause in the Treaty of Amsterdam which could potentially strengthen EU citizenship. Article 6a of the Treaty states that the Council can adopt adequate measures to combat discrimination based on gender, race, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual preference, and handicap. This new article is progress in the sense that for the first time the principle of nondiscrimination is given a legal basis on which political and legal action can be based. It seems to concern both EU and non-EU citizens. This would have been clearer if nationality had been included in the basis for discrimination list. For the time being discrimination based on nationality remains covered by the old Article 6. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 842

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why was nationality deliberately excluded from Article 6a’s protected grounds while still covered under old Article 6? Worth chasing the politics behind that omission.