Free movement and residence rights

July 7th 2009  

Vice-President Jacques Barrot, Commissioner in charge of Justice, Freedom and Security has stated: “The freedom to live and work abroad is one of the cornerstones of the European Union. It works to the benefit of EU citizens, EU countries and the competitiveness of our economies. Eight million EU citizens have moved to live in another Member State. Today, we offer information to EU citizens and assistance to the Member States by issuing guidelines to ensure better transposition and application of the Directive.”

Barrot’s statement was uttered July 2nd 2009, as the Commission adopted guidelines for better transposition and application of the 2004 Directive on the right of EU citizens and their families to move and reside freely. The guidelines clarify the rights of EU citizens and their family members and offer assistance to Member States on the measures they can take to tackle criminality, abuse and marriages of convenience.

All Member states have adopted national laws transposing the 2004 Directive, but a report on the application of the Directive made in December 2008 concluded that the overall transposition of the Directive was rather disappointing.

The Commission is committed to ensuring that EU citizens and their family members enjoy effectively their right to free movement, and in order to do this the Commission has announced that more information will be provided. The adoption of the guidelines July 2nd 2009 is this first actual outcome of the work that the Commission is carrying out with the Member States.

The guidelines offer information and assistance to both Member States and EU citizens on those issues, which were identified as problematic. These are mainly the definition of sufficient resources, dependency, public policy and public security and abuse.

The Commission will continue to remain observant on the application of the Free Movement Directive and will make full use of the powers conferred on it by the Treaty to ensure that EU citizens can effectively enjoy their rights.

Read the Press Release from the European Commission here, and a more elaborate description of the guidelines here.