Freedom of movement, one of the crucial achievements of European integration seems to be at a critical juncture in the 2010s. Mobilization against freedom rights was one of the winning formulas for the European Parliament victory of populist parties in France, the UK, and Denmark. In 2013 the governments of Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK called upon the European Council to act against EU citizens that allegedly ‘abuse’ their freedom of movement rights (Member States letter to the Council 2013). The allegation that EU citizens moved for claiming welfare benefits has become a highly salient issue in member states. Against the background of an ever more numerous and an ever more diverse population of EU movers the economic and social rights of EU citizens are put in question. This observation motivates questions such as: To what extent can we observe challenges to the conditions for freedom of movement? What actors promote changes to EU freedom of movement, and why? What are the political and legal responses of EU, national and local actors to EU movers? Why are we observing variance in these responses?

The contestation of EU rights for freedom of movement has just since recently attracted the attention of researchers. Therefore, the panel assembles research papers that explore contestation from various angles and disciplines: Reactions of political actors and civil society as well as legal analysis on the scope of EU citizenship as a social or economic right can be the issues discussed on the panel.