Institutional Models under Directive 2014/54: Advantages and Disadvantages for Free Movement of Workers and their Family Members

Despite many efforts to empower the EU citizens and their family members to benefit from the free movement of workers, numerous well-documented obstacles are still present within the EU. The EU intends to eliminate the gap between the rights on paper and in practice in Directive 2014/54 by establishing four procedural pillars—promotion, support, analysis and monitoring. The functions are entrusted to the institution(s) designated by the Member States leaving them a wide discretion to choose the most appropriate institutional model. This article focuses on the analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of three possible institutional setups—establishment of a new institution, extension of the mandate of an existing body and assignment of the tasks to several existing national bodies. The study examines which model is more suitable to meet the aims of the Directive, taking into consideration the nature and content of the abovementioned pillars and specific situation in the different Member States.