No Welfare Magnets – Free Movement and Cross-Border Welfare in Germany and Denmark Compared

In the European Union (EU) a ‘dually open’ free movement system has evolved, granting EU citizens the right to free movement within the Union as well as cross-border welfare rights. In the literature, such a system has constantly been described as corrosive for the nationally organized welfare state, which will become ‘magnets’ for the European poor. This paper examines how the German and the Danish welfare states have responded to the ‘dual opening’ and what have become the outcomes hereof. The paper first traces political, administrative and judicial responses in the two countries, focusing on non-contributory welfare schemes. Second, the paper examines outcomes in terms of EU’s citizens’ use of non-contributory benefits between 2007-2015. We show that domestic responses were mostly restrictive and outcomes remained rather stable, despite considerable changes in EU rules and rights. Our findings do not support the welfare magnet hypothesis, but identify a notable increase in EU citizens receiving in-work-benefits in Germany, suggesting a particular challenge to welfare state schemes which support low-wage labour.