EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/874

(2004/C 78 E/0927)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3908/03

by Olle Schmidt (ELDR) to the Commission

(17 December 2003)

Subject: Freedom of movement in the EU and risk of abuse of welfare systems

1 May 2004 will be an historic day — West and East Europe reunited after decades of separation. While we should welcome this occasion, we should also be aware of some of the issues which may arise in connection with it, in particular those associated with freedom of movement. In the spring, when the borders open to citizens in the ten new Member States, where in general the standard of welfare is lower than in the rest of the EU, there is a risk of abuse of the welfare systems in the current Member States. To obtain a residence permit, students are required to be self-supporting, whereas there is no such requirement of workers. The Court of Justice has ruled that the minimum working time for definition as employment is ten hours per week for some form of consideration, not necessarily money. Ten hours' employment now entitles the employee to a residence permit, which opens the door to the Member States' welfare systems. Transitional rules are not an acceptable measure to prevent this as it would be discriminatory.

As these issues are currently the subject of intensive debate in most Member States, will the Commission say whether it intends to introduce general measures, applying to all EU citizens, in order to combat abuse and whether it will take the initiative to redefine the term ‘employed’ in order to prevent abuse of the Member States' welfare systems?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(12 February 2004)

During the preparations for enlargement, specific attention was paid to the issue of free movement of people following enlargement. In particular, it was studied in detail the issue of the likely size and impact of mobility in the post-enlargement period.

The overall conclusion from the analyses indicates that mobility from the new Member States to the current 15 Member States is estimated to remain rather limited. These conclusions are in line with previous enlargement experiences, in particular when Spain and Portugal joined the European Community. Also at that time, it was observed that the improvement in expectations as well as the better opportunities available to improve one's standard of living and quality of life encourages people to remain in their home country.

Free movement of persons and non-discrimination on the basis of nationality are fundamental rights for community nationals within the European Union. Furthermore, labour mobility is facilitated to better match demand and supply on the European labour markets.

To facilitate the transition at the moment of enlargement, a number of specific measures have been foreseen to accompany the principle of free movement.

The following has been agreed for all Acceding Countries, except Malta and Cyprus. It should be stressed that these measures will only apply to free movement of salaried workers and that in relation to other categories of citizens (self-employed, students, inactive or retired people) Community provisions regarding the right to free movement and residence will apply from the day of accession.

For the first two years after accession, the current Member States will admit workers from the future Member States under national rules. Current Member States may completely liberalise access to their labour markets during these two years, but through national measures.

Two years after accession, the Commission will report on the situation and the current Member States will have to announce whether they intend to continue with national measures for a maximum three years after the initial two-year transitional period, or whether they intend to apply Community rules on the free movement of workers.

It is only if a current Member State can show serious disturbances in the labour market, or a threat of such disturbances, that they will be able to say that they continue to restrict access to their labour markets for an additional two years.

Germany and Austria have the right to apply flanking national measures to address serious disturbances or the threat thereof, in specific sensitive service sectors (such as construction or industrial cleaning) on their labour markets, which could arise in certain regions from cross-border provision of services, involving the movement of workers.