«Un controllo sanitario alle frontiere della CEE». Parlamento europeo e AIDS tra discriminazione e «sicurezza sociale» (1983-1991)

Drawing primarily on records held at the Historical Archives of the European Union, this chapter examines the European Parliament’s response to HIV/AIDS between 1983 and 1991. It explores how the epidemic shaped debates over border controls, freedom of movement, and the relationship between human rights and social protection at a time when the European Economic Community lacked an explicit public health mandate. Particular attention is paid to far-right parliamentarians, especially representatives of the French Front National, whose demands for compulsory testing and border restrictions drew on racialised representations of migrants, moral judgements about sexuality, and concerns over welfare expenditure. The chapter reconstructs the political conflicts through which a common approach emerged, informed by World Health Organization recommendations and centred on prevention, non-discrimination, and international cooperation. This process culminated in the adoption of the Europe against AIDS programme in 1991 and the rejection of proposals to bar people living with HIV from entering the Community. It argues that the epidemic acted as a catalyst for European health cooperation while exposing tensions between universalist commitments and exclusionary practices. Persistent discrimination at national level and subsequent constraints on public welfare expenditure limited the implementation of these commitments, revealing the difficulty of translating the protection of individual rights into effective guarantees of social rights and access to healthcare.