Croatia’s Accession to the EU: European Social Solidarity and the Threat to Free Movement from Labour Market Protection and Integration Barriers

This paper was given at the conference ‘Integration or Disintegration? The Future of European Law & Policy’ (Institute of European Law, University of Birmingham). A number of arguments were put forward. Although 'free movement' is a cornerstone of the EU project, and equal treatment between EU nationals and host State nationals in the matter of access to labour and wider social rights is a fundamental component of that project (linking to rights rooted in EU citizenship), the project is increasingly under threat as a result of protectionist tendencies, not least residence and migration status-related barriers. In some host States such barriers are visibly being reinforced by controls masquerading as 'integration' requirements to the point where there is undoubted abuse and non-compliance with non-discrimination and equal treatment requirements. Indeed, as the paper considered, this has been the subject of Commission notices and CJEU enforcement action in some instances. The paper drew on recent case studies of how this has become problematic, and concluded by assessing the scale of the challenge, especially given the forthcoming accession of new States like Croatia, and on-going talks about other States' accession after 2013.