‘Damn It, I Am a Miserable Eastern European in the Eyes of the Administrator’: EU Migrants’ Experiences with (Transnational) Social Security

Elisabeth Scheibelhofer,Clara Holzinger

doi:10.17645/si.v6i3.1477

Abstract

The European Union has given itself unique worldwide regulations so that EU citizens can port their social rights transnationally in case of migration. Yet this political and legal statement becomes flawed once a sociological perspective is adopted to look into the actual experiences of migrants. TRANSWEL (2015–2018), an ongoing international research project—applying a mixed-method approach to compare four country-pairs (Bulgaria-Germany, Estonia-Sweden, Hungary-Austria, Poland-UK)—has shown that mobile EU citizens are confronted with exclusion and discrimination and that their belonging is put into question. Based on qualitative interviews with migrants, we argue that welfare institutions in the ‘old’ EU member states (partially) exclude and potentially discriminate against mobile EU citizens. Exclusion and discrimination are mainly based on two types of experiences: First, the difficulty to navigate through a complex system of (transnational) regulations and administrative structures, and second, the burden to prove that one falls into the competency of the member state in question. The article points out that the EU—commonly referred to as the global best-practice example in terms of the portability of social rights—reveals its flaws and limitations once the actual experiences of migrants are scrutinized in this multilevel system of governance.

Highlights

Managing social security in the event of migration and international mobility is becoming a key concern in the global discussion surrounding migration (Avato, Koettl, & Sabates-Wheeler, 2010; Sabates-Wheeler, Koettl, & Avato, 2011; Sabates-Wheeler & Koettl, 2010)
We found that experiences of discrimination were common for the interview partners and that those who were involved in transnational migration often found themselves excluded from social benefits once they were in need of social protection
Due to various circumstances discussed above, we conclude that mobile EU nationals have lower chances of being treated as equals if they attempt to access social security in a given EU member state

Summary

Introduction

Managing social security in the event of migration and international mobility is becoming a key concern in the global discussion surrounding migration (Avato, Koettl, & Sabates-Wheeler, 2010; Sabates-Wheeler, Koettl, & Avato, 2011; Sabates-Wheeler & Koettl, 2010). In this debate, social researchers and legal scholars together agree that the EU has come up with a unique transnational regulatory system that allows intra-EU migrants to port their social rights from one member state to another under certain conditions. The focus was in four areas, namely health insurance, unemployment benefits, retirement benefits, and familyrelated benefits

Methodology

Dealing with Complex and Transnationally Incompatible Regulations

Transnational Lifestyles Colliding with National Container Policies

Experiencing and Coping with Discrimination

Findings

Conclusions