The European Commission has recently unveiled plans aimed at ensuring the better application of EU law on citizens’ right to work in another EU Member State.

Freedom of movement of workers is one of the four fundamental pillars of economic integration in the EU, which also includes the free movement of capital, goods, and services. Enshrined in Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) and developed by EU secondary legislation and the Case Law of the Court of Justice of the EU, free movement of workers is one of the core values of the EU and a fundamental element of EU citizenship. The rights derived from the free movement of workers are further detailed in Regulation (EU) No 492/2011 which defines the specific areas where discrimination on the grounds of nationality is prohibited, in particular as regards, access to employment, working conditions, social and fiscal advantages, access to training, membership of trade unions, housing, and access to education.

In spite of this, EU citizens who want to move or who actually move from one Member State to another for work purposes still face problems in exercising their rights. The difficulties they encounter go some way to explaining why geographical mobility between EU Member States has remained at a relatively low level. According to the EU-Labour Force Survey, in 2011, only 3.1% of the working-age European citizens (15-64) were living in an EU Member State other than their own. A Eurobarometer survey in 2009 showed that while 60% of European citizens considered free movement of workers to be a good thing for European integration, only 48% thought it was positive for individuals. Moreover, according to the results of a more recent Eurobarometer “Internal Market: Awareness, Perceptions and Impacts” (September 2011), 15% of European citizens would not consider working in another Member State because they feel

there are too many obstacles.

The European Commission, in its recently published Proposal for a Directive on measures facilitating the exercise of rights conferred on workers in the context of freedom of movement of workers, lists the following obstacles that EU citizens still face in the effective exercise of their right to work in another EU Member State:

different recruitment conditions for EU nationals;

nationality conditions for access to posts;

introduction of nationality quotas for EU citizens;

different working conditions;

access to social advantages (such as study grants) made subject to conditions which are more easily met by nationals than by EU citizens;

professional qualifications and experience acquired in other Member State are not taken into account or they are taken into account in a different way than those obtained in the host Member State for the purpose of accessing employment; and

EU migrant workers not having access to information or the means to ensure their rights.

The Commission’s Proposal aims to improve and reinforce the way in which Article 45 TFEU and Regulation (EU) No 492/2011 are applied in practice across the EU by establishing a general common framework of appropriate provisions and measures for facilitating a better and more uniform application of rights conferred by EU law on workers and members of their families exercising their right to free movement for work purposes.

If approved by the European Parliament and the EU Council, the proposal would require EU countries to:

guarantee EU migrant workers an appropriate means of redress at national level;

allow associations, organisations or other legal entities with a legitimate interest in the promotion of the rights to free movement of workers to engage in any administrative or judicial procedure on behalf of, or in support of EU migrant workers where there has been a violation of their rights;

set up structures or bodies at a national level to promote the exercise of the right to free movement by providing information and supporting and assisting EU migrant workers who suffer from nationality-based discrimination;

raise awareness by providing employers, workers, and any other interested parties with easily accessible relevant information; and

promote dialogue with appropriate non-governmental organisations and the social partners.

Independently of this proposal, the Commission highlighted will continue to pursue infringement procedures where necessary against Member States in cases where national law is not in line with the Treaty and the Regulation.

As László Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion stated, “free movement of workers within the EU’s Single Market is a win-win situation, both for individuals and for the EU economy as a whole. This new proposal would help migrant workers who experience difficulties in exercising their rights to free movement, both now, and in the future.”

Francine Caruana

Executive – EU Policy and Legislation