Free movement of EU citizens: also for the poor?

The right of EU citizens to move freely within the EU Member States has evolved from a right for economically active persons within the context of Europe’s economic integration, to a right for all EU citizens whether or not they are economically active. In the same vein, the fight against poverty and social exclusion is high on the EU’s political agenda. Yet, the right to free movement of economically non-active persons is subject to them having sufficient resources so that they do not become an unreasonable burden on the host state’s social assistance system. Moreover, residence conditions that are incorporated in the social legislation of Member States could result in losing the right to benefits when migrating to another Member State. As a result, the right to free movement could very well become impossible in practice for poor people. The paper will first analyze this ambiguity within the Union’s policy goals. It will critically look into the balance that has been struck, by the legislator as well as by the Court of Justice, between the free movement rights and the Member States’ interest in limiting access to their solidarity systems. In addition, it will examine the sometimes contradiction of who is economically inactive and of what is meant by social assistance in EU law. Secondly, the paper will propose how this ambiguity and these contradictions could be solved so as to guarantee the right to free movement for all, including the poor, and to prevent migration leading to destitution.