Solidarity (still) in the Making: European Union Citizenship and Social Rights

Political debates concerning the free movement of (poor) EU citizens (mainly from the newer EU MS) have focused upon the issues of abuse of free movement rights and welfare tourism, despite the lack of any meaningful evidence that the two are actually taking place on a wide scale in the EU. This paper seeks to look beyond the politicized discussion on who should be allowed to move by asking whether the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice on issues of free movement and EU citizenship reflects these political debates. To put it differently, what is the relationship between law and politics in this field of EU law; and, does the case law on citizenship reflect the politics of the past years?