The fears that undermine EU internal migration

Abstract

Freedom of movement of persons in the EU has been built progressively since the foundation of the European Economic Community. Its success and fruits are incontestable, and it is considered as an exemplary model of European integration. Nevertheless, the favourite right of EU citizens has been questioned since a decade and its future development is undermined by different fears. Two main categories of fears can be identified: the economic fear and the threat to national public policy. The first category includes mainly the fear of abuse of social assistance by EU inactive migrants or solely their absence of sufficient financial resources. Hosting Member States are consequently fearing unreasonable burdens for their national budget. The second category deals with a more general threat with different faces. Indeed, national public policy can be threatened by serious grounds such as violence or aggravated theft but also by contestable grounds such as uncleanliness, homelessness or the belonging to a poor minority. The paper is first presenting the evolution of freedom of movement of persons in the EU from its start until nowadays, focusing on the last decade reversing progression. Then, it is exploring the main categories of fears, that undermine current freedom of movement of persons and generate national limits to freedom of movement.