Intra-EU Mobility of EU Citizens and Third-Country Nationals: Where EU Free Movement and Migration Policies Intersect or Disconnect?

Abstract

Free movement of persons is one of the cornerstones of EU law. It is considered that any restriction to free movement has detrimental effects on the functioning of the EU internal market and on economic growth. From this perspective it would seem only reasonable that the internal market logic would favour intra-EU mobility of all economically active persons legally residing on the EU territory. Yet, even though Article 3(2) TEU commits the Union to ensure “free movement of persons” in its “area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers”, EU free movement policy and the ensuing intra-EU mobility rights remain mainly reserved for EU citizens, whereas third-country nationals (further in text: TCNs) are generally not covered by the EU free movement policy. This opens up three questions that will be explored in the following pages. First, why is there such a visible divide between the EU free movement and migration policies in relation to intra-EU mobility of EU citizens and TCNs, knowing that the economic benefits of free movement of persons have been recognized in the EU for decades? Second, are there, nevertheless, areas where the two policies do merge? And, third, should a different approach to TCNs’ intra-EU mobility rights be more beneficial for their successful integration and/or for the process of EU integration?