Mobility within the European Union and the Access to Social Benefits: Challenges of Social Policies

This paper investigates the relationship between migration within European Union (EU) and access to social benefits as an important issue of concern on the EU social agenda. Citizens of EU have freedom of movement within Member States internal borders but also a series of social rights including access to social benefits. Social protection is a prerogative of the Member States while the right to social benefits is a subject of different eligibility criteria. After the EU enlargement in 2004 and 2007 some older Member States decide to be stricter regarding the access of the EU migrants to the social benefits - especially for those inactive. Terms as “welfare tourism” or “benefit tourism” became more present in the public discourse and also an instrument used by politicians during elections time. The concerns are not totally justified as the main motivation for EU citizens to make use of free movement is work-related (approx.70% of the total number of mobile EU citizens).As the state with the highest number of migrants in EU Member States, Romania became one of the states whose migrant citizens were labeled as benefit tourists, even though there is insufficient evidence of potential social system abuse by Romanians migrants.

Keywords: migration, European Union, social benefits, European citizenship