Commission upholds free movement of people
26/11/2013 - 9:57am
The European Commission adopted a policy paper to support the free movement of people within the EU.
On 25 November, the Commission published a policy paper to support the efforts of the Member States to enhance the free movement of people within the EU. The paper aims to address concerns in some EU Member States about the implementation of free movement rules on the ground. The Commission sets out five actions to help the appropriate authorities:
(i) Fight marriages of convenience: The Commission will help national authorities implement EU rules which allow them to fight potential abuses of the right to free movement; (ii) Apply EU social security coordination rules: The Commission is working closely with the Member States to establish a test with strict criteria to ensure that citizens who are not working may only have access to social security in another Member State once they have genuinely moved their centre of interest to that State (for example their family is there); (iii) Address social inclusion challenges: The Commission will help Member States further use the European Social Fund to tackle social inclusion; (iv) Promote the exchange of best practices amongst local authorities: The Commission will help local authorities to share knowledge developed across Europe to better address social inclusion challenges; (v) and ensure the application of EU free movement rules on the ground: the Commission will also set up by the end of 2014, in cooperation with Member States, an online training module to help staff in local authorities fully understand and apply free movement rights of EU citizens.
European Commissioner for employment policy, László Andor said about the new policy paper on the free movement of people. ”The Commission recognises that there can be local problems created by a large, sudden influx of people from other EU countries into a particular geographical area. For example, they can put a strain on education, housing and infrastructure. It therefore stands ready to engage with Member States and to help municipal authorities and others use the European Social Fund to its full extent.”
European Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding added. “The right to free movement is a fundamental right and it goes to the heart of EU citizenship…I am aware of the concerns of some Member States regarding potential abuses related to mobility flows…Let's work together on safeguarding the right to free movement. European citizens count on this.”
On 25 November, the Commission published a policy paper to support the efforts of the Member States to enhance the free movement of people within the EU. The paper aims to address concerns in some EU Member States about the implementation of free movement rules on the ground. The Commission sets out five actions to help the appropriate authorities:
(i) Fight marriages of convenience: The Commission will help national authorities implement EU rules which allow them to fight potential abuses of the right to free movement; (ii) Apply EU social security coordination rules: The Commission is working closely with the Member States to establish a test with strict criteria to ensure that citizens who are not working may only have access to social security in another Member State once they have genuinely moved their centre of interest to that State (for example their family is there); (iii) Address social inclusion challenges: The Commission will help Member States further use the European Social Fund to tackle social inclusion; (iv) Promote the exchange of best practices amongst local authorities: The Commission will help local authorities to share knowledge developed across Europe to better address social inclusion challenges; (v) and ensure the application of EU free movement rules on the ground: the Commission will also set up by the end of 2014, in cooperation with Member States, an online training module to help staff in local authorities fully understand and apply free movement rights of EU citizens.
European Commissioner for employment policy, László Andor said about the new policy paper on the free movement of people. ”The Commission recognises that there can be local problems created by a large, sudden influx of people from other EU countries into a particular geographical area. For example, they can put a strain on education, housing and infrastructure. It therefore stands ready to engage with Member States and to help municipal authorities and others use the European Social Fund to its full extent.”
European Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding added. “The right to free movement is a fundamental right and it goes to the heart of EU citizenship…I am aware of the concerns of some Member States regarding potential abuses related to mobility flows…Let's work together on safeguarding the right to free movement. European citizens count on this.”
No comments:
Post a Comment