European Parliamentary elections are currently taking place. Eurosceptic parties such as UKIP (UK), PVV (the Netherlands), and Front National (France) are expected to rake up a significant share of the vote. These parties exploit fears of mass migration within Europe from new Eastern member states, successfully linking their longstanding anti-immigration agendas with anti-EU agendas. Since the accession of thirteen new member states in 2004 (A8), 2007 (A2) and 2013, migration within the European Union has risen significantly. Many residents in the old member states (the ‘EU-15’) view this migration as a threat to employment and a burden on welfare benefits.
In this blog, Evelyn Ersanilli asks: What is the actual scale of intra-European migration? How is it regulated? What evidence is there of ‘welfare tourism’?
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