Home

Introduction

Manon Wormsbecher (1984) is a PhD candidate and lecturer at the department of European Studies at the University of Amsterdam.

 

She currently teaches the BA-courses Vrij Personen Verkeer in de EU (Free Movement of Persons in the EU) and  Marktordening: Europese Integratie door Regulering (EU Internal Market Law).

 

Before she started working at the University of Amsterdam, she worked at knowledge centre 'Europa decentraal' in the Hague (work experience placement). Here, she provided legal advice to local and regional government bodies on the correct application of EU law and policy.

Research

In September 2010 Manon Wormsbecher started working on her PhD-thesis at the Institute of Culture and History. The working title of her thesis reads: 'Unity in Diversity' and a European Concept of Equality beyond the Labour Market: the possibilities of establishing freedom, equality and justice for all. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. M.J. (Michael) Wintle. Co-supervisor: Dr. C.R.M. (Lia) Versteegh.

 

The central topic of this research project is EU equality regulation and policy in the context of minority protection.

 

The central theme running through this research project is ‘unity in diversity’. The European Union unites 490 million people and 27 states. By bringing together such diversity, the EU in fact clusters entities with diverging cultural and historical backgrounds and brings them together in a single ’unity in diversity’. At first glance, ‘unity in diversity’ seems to be a contradictio in terminis. Nonetheless, on closer study, both terms indeed seem to characterize the process of European integration. On the one hand, the Treaties include a majority of provisions which underline the supranational character of the EU and the need for legal and political homogeneity (unity); simultaneously, many other provisions stress the intergovernmental aspects of European integration and the importance of fostering cultural, political and legal differentiation (diversity). But can these two diverging concepts –unity and diversity-  really result in coherent and effective policies? To what extent does this constellation affect the course and future prospects of European integration? In this study, an answer to this question will be provided, by studying  the way in which the interaction between culture, politics, history and practice shapes national and EU equality law in the context of minority protection.

 

The project revolves around a comparative analysis of the (constitutional) traditions of the Member States, notably the Netherlands, France and Hungary, in the area of minority protection. In this context divergences and convergences between equality regulation and policy in the member states of the EU will be investigated. The comparative analysis is intended to demonstrate the possibilities of developing a European concept of equality. Attention will be paid to the implications and importance of that concept for enhanced minority protection in EU member states. In this regard, the position of Roma minorities throughout the EU will serve as an important case-study.   

Publications

(Forthcoming) Huzen, I.M. and M. Wormsbecher,  Praktisch Europees Recht, Groningen: Noordhoff, 2012.

Education

Manon Wormsbecher studied International and European Law and European Studies at the University of Amsterdam. In 2009 she obtained her LL.M. degree. She wrote her thesis on constitutional change through Interinstitutional Agreements (IIA's) and the increase of  parliamentary powers in the EU. In 2008 she graduated from the Faculty of Humanities, department of European Studies (cum laude). She wrote her MA-thesis on the fight against terrorism in the EU and the protection of human rights.

Student information

Pigeon-hole: secretariat European Studies (PCH 6.48).
Office hours: after appointment by mail.