Chapter 4: Migration in the European Union: Too much of a good thing?

The European Union is committed to the principle of the free movement of people within its frontiers, which is central to the concept of EU citizenship. But this principle has given rise to concerns caused by the inclusion of more Eastern European countries with much lower wages. Many people in Germany, Britain, 11 EEAG Report 2015 Summary the Netherlands, Austria and other “old EU” members, particularly those with low skills in precarious low-wage jobs, who are threatened by unemployment and disadvantaged in housing markets, fear the consequences of the unlimited movement of workers from the East. They fear that their wage and job prospects may be undermined by the employment of immigrant workers at lower salaries; that incoming migrants may push up rents and property prices; that migrants may impose greater burdens on the welfare state, particularly if they (the migrants) have lower skills and wages than the indigenous population, are more prone to unemployment, and likely to pay lower taxes. The debate about migration and public policy has become highly charged as a result.