Summary of the expert conference on “Free movement and participation of EU citizens –
making it work for all”, Rotterdam 3-4 September 2012.
On 3-4 September, the Netherlands and Germany hosted an expert conference on the freedom of
movement and participation of EU citizens. The objective of this conference was to provide a
platform to discuss how to maximize the benefits of the freedom of movement for all those players
involved, notably EU citizens, employers, (local) governments and sending and receiving countries,
and to share policy alternatives and good practices for receiving EU citizens and strengthening their
participation. The conference was attended by representatives from central, regional and local
authorities from 21 EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland, the European Commission, the
Council of Europe, Eurofound, Eurocities, academics, employers and various civil society
organisations and migrant associations.
Throughout the discussions and presentations it became clear that there is much support for the
benefits and potential of freedom of movement and a that there is a shared conviction that
ensuring the participation of mobile EU citizens is essential in unleashing the full potential of
freedom of movement for both individual citizens as well as receiving and sending societies. It was
argued that the right to practice mobility, move and reside and work freely within the EU, should
be understood as a positive challenge and be encouraged. Intra EU-mobility was also held to be of
increasing importance in view of demographic changes and in this respect it was felt by some that
freedom of movement could be further strengthened.
There were, however, also reports of negative socio-economic impacts at a local level in both
receiving and sending countries, such as the rupture of families and a brain drain and questions
with regard to the capacity of local authorities to welcome newcomers and to maintain social
cohesion as well as negative effects on local employment. A presentation on the macro economic
research regarding the impact of freedom of movement supported the overall positive image
although it was also noted that many aspects, such as local economic and cultural impacts and the
effects on public service, are generally not taken into account and less researched. It was
therefore recommended that there should be continuing efforts to understand the economic, social
and cultural impact of EU migration on both sending and receiving countries, at both a local and
national level.
Ensuring public support was a much heard concern. Recent political and economic tensions –
particularly the prolonged job crisis –as well as the inflow of Roma –vulnerable ‘mobile’ citizens
which are ill equipped to participate in the labour market- have placed EU mobility under increased
scrutiny. Some speakers therefore pleaded that governments should more actively disseminate
the benefits of freedom of movement and the provision of more objective information, while others
pleaded for acknowledging genuine public concerns and more attention for the local impacts of
freedom of movement. In this respect it was also mentioned that citizens concerned about
migration do not distinguish between migration from outside the EU and intra-EU mobility.
Many speakers explained that government policies and legislation geared towards social inclusion
and participation do not distinguish between third country nationals and EU citizens. The inflow of
newcomers as a result of intra-EU mobility also constitutes challenges in terms of adjustment as
regards public services and care provision for the citizens in terms of accommodation, work,
language courses and educational support. It was also mentioned that the basic integration
requirements of EU citizens are generally no different to those of other newcomers. They need to
get to grips with a new language, with new institutions and, sometimes, with different social
norms.
The view that the integration of EU citizens had to be seen as a two-way process seemed to get
overall support. Receiving societies have responsibilities to help migrants participate, including
through means such as providing equal access to services and proactive outreach to include EU
citizens in language and orientation programs, while EU citizens also have responsibilities when
making use of freedom of movement in terms of language acquisition, work and involvement in
local communities.

The fact that intra-EU mobility generally reflects more fluid migration patterns than third country
nationals was highlighted as a particular challenge as this could prevent governments from making
investments and affects EU citizens’ willingness to invest in their stay. Several speakers issued
warnings in this regard calling on governments not to easily assume that people will not settle and
to start investments in integration from the start so as to reduce the risk of individual and
collective problems in the long term. It was also noted that insecurity about entitlements in terms
of pensions and social security seemed to have a negative effect on the mobility of EU citizens.
The need to have a welcoming culture for newcomers was also stressed. This, inter alia, requires
that unnecessary administrative hurdles and barriers would need to be removed and people are
made to feel welcome throughout society requiring the active involvement of all citizens. Several
speakers also made the point that although EU citizens enjoy a broad range of political, economic
and social rights which facilitate their integration in the host society, there is still a gap between EU
rights and practice. Key obstacles experienced by EU citizens in making optimal use of the right of
movement include lack of awareness of information sources and red tape, notably in the field of
social security rights, entry procedures and the right of residence for third family members and the
recognition of qualifications and diplomas. This might require more attention for the correct
implementation of the law through improved training and instructions for front-line civil servants,
improved cooperation between European institutions and Member States, information campaigns
geared to awareness on citizen’s rights, and support to migrant workers in case of discrimination.
Reinforcing cooperation with employers was also a central theme throughout the discussions. It
was stated that, given the fact that the possibility of states to regulate freedom of movement is
very limited, freedom of movement of workers is mainly in the hands of employers. As a
beneficiary of liberal immigration policy, employers would therefore have a duty to take into
account social considerations through means of support such as providing housing, and language
courses. There were, however, also warnings of exploitation by temporary employment agencies
who bind migrants by offering an all-inclusive concept of accommodation, housing, transport and
health insurance, preventing migrants from finding their own way. To avoid exploitation, it was
recommend that provision of work and accommodation is separated. It was, furthermore, brought
to attention that governments also have an important role to play as employers and should ensure
a strict enforcement of legislation regarding labour conditions.
Migrant associations were also mentioned as an important partner. They can play an important role
in the chain of information on rights and obligations as well as for information on pitfalls and longterm consequences of migration and support. Contact between migrants, their organizations and
the receiving society can also make a positive contribution for social cohesion and integration.
It was generally agreed that bilateral partnerships between sending and host EU member states
could be strengthened in order to identify and address integration challenges, improve information
provision and support on mobility and ways to participate in the host society. Further multilateral
European information exchange on the various issues addressed during the meeting was also
welcomed, notably with regard to the social impact of freedom of movement at a local level,
research on how EU citizens fare in terms of integration, and addressing fraud. Some noted that
there should be more flexible European funding for promoting the participation of EU citizens, e.g.
opening up the target group of the European Integration Fund.
Within the EU framework, relevant future instruments and activities to reinforce freedom of
movement and participation of EU citizens include the extension of the Eures portal which will
equip itself with post placement services in order to allow better integration in the company and
country of destination, a study commissioned by the Commission to feed into the second report on
the application of the Free Movement Directive that will focus on inclusion policies of EU citizens
into their host society, and a proposal aiming at the provision of support to migrant workers and
improvement of the means of redress to discrimination. Furthermore, it was mentioned that the
2013 European Year of Citizens will also stimulate debate about the right to free movement, in
particular in terms of strengthening social cohesion.