Brussels, 05/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - A week after UK Prime Minister David Cameron's outburst in Vilnius, UK Home Secretary Theresa May re-ignited the controversy regarding the rules of free movement within the EU when she spoke at the meeting of home affairs ministers in Brussels on 5 December. She spoke in particular about a change in future accession treaties for countries joining the EU.
In May's view, future treaties will have to put a brake on full access to member states' labour markets. “This could, for example, be achieved by requiring new member states to reach a certain level of income per inhabitant before full freedom of movement is granted them”, she said. The UK is concerned by the lifting of the final restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian workers on 1 January 2014. The government is particularly under pressure from the anti-European party UKIP, which could snatch seats from the UK Conservatives at the next European elections.
May also suggested that a ceiling be fixed for European migrants in future. The UK believes it will certainly be necessary for European governments sooner or later to review the way the rules of free movement work.
These proposals were put forward on Thursday as the home affairs ministers discussed the Commission's report on free movement in Europe and on the alleged abuse of social benefits - an issue which was raised in the spring by the UK, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. In Luxembourg in October, Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding unveiled a preliminary report in which she refuted the existence of massive abuse by nationals of the Eastern countries - although she did not deny there were some difficulties. The figures put forward by the Commission belied these four member states, and the Commission even said that if there was pressure on their social systems, it was more due to nationals from non-EU member states.
Convinced that the current rules - especially the 2004 directive on free movement and the regulation on coordinating social security systems - respond perfectly to the concerns of the member states, Reding presented a communication on the issue on 25 November, as well as an action plan to help the 28 EU member states apply the rules better. The action plan provides for a guide to tackle marriages of convenience and to apply the habitual residence criteria better - upon which certain social benefits are based.
On Thursday, Reding reiterated that “European rules do not permit unconditional access to benefits” and that this was first and foremost a decision for member states. “They are free to decide what benefits they want to pay and to whom, as well as the conditions in which they pay them”. In addition, Reding continued, it seems that “some are too generous”.
In order to remedy the abuse, two solutions could be possible, Reding said. Firstly, member states should change their national rules if they consider them too broad, and then they should apply the European arrangements allowing them to expel European citizens, for example.
Several delegations spoke on Thursday, but “none requested reviewing the directive on free movement”, said a source. The UK did not explicitly request a review of the 2004 instrument either and “its request on future treaties remains very theoretical”, this source stated.
The four Visegrad countries (Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) noted in a joint declaration that the UK had significantly benefitted economically from migrants from Central and Eastern Europe - migrants who are often young and economically active (80% are under the age of 44, 70% are in employment - according to their data). However, these countries also admitted that some migrants have been able “to abuse systems that are too generous”. They hope that the possible new British rules will not damage growth or the way the internal market works.
During this discussion, Finland and Slovenia also believed that it was necessary to strengthen cooperation between national authorities in order to prevent abuse - with a prior inquiry in the countries of origin helping identify the right of a citizen to social benefits or not. Denmark wanted more focus on fraudulent documents. Yet with regard to this point, the Commission says, “the rule on coordination responds to this”. A few countries complained about sham marriages, including Ireland, Cyprus and the UK. Germany did not believe that the Commission's communication was very satisfactory and wanted the notion of benefits abuse to be more precise.
This discontent is felt, however, by just a handful of member states. The large majority backed the Commission's communication on Thursday and are ready to move forward on Reding's action plan, according to sources. (SP/transl.fl)