Limits to the rights of freedom of movement and residence of the Roma minority within the European Union

Abstract

One of the most significant topics of EU integration is the limits and extension of free movement and residence of a citizen in the territory of another member state. The transitional arrangements secured in the latest rounds of enlargement on the enjoyment of such liberties in an enlarged EU. This paper assesses the current legal framework of these freedoms, in reference to the impact on immigration policy of some members, especially the potential effects of inadequate domestic transposition by states on the exercise of citizenship rights of nomadic gypsies. The author focus on legal nature of citizenship rights of poor Romanian and Bulgarian gypsies to exercise such rights. It is also highlighted that the narrow national interpretations to the nature of citizenship of poor gypsies in the EU violates the scope of rights conferred by European citizenship that is subject to supranational guarantees provided by the EU legal system.