FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS IN EU. SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC INTEGRATION OF MIGRANTS IN THE NETHERLANDS

Abstract

Free movement of persons represents one of the four pillars of the EU’s Single Market and the concept has changed in meaning since its inception (from the focus on workers’ rights to the European citizenship). Thus, the mobility of EU’s citizens is highly supported (free movement within Schengen area, but free establishment outside of Schengen), while the migration of the third-country nationals has become more and more strictly monitored. The labour migration phenomenon is not at all a recent one, but the controversies related to the immigration policy have become part at the top of the EU agenda (see the relevance of the immigration theme on the latest BREXIT debates). The aging labour force, the accelerated increase of the dependency ratios, the crisis of the pensions’ systems, the young labour force manifesting a lack of interest for low skilled jobs and the restructuring reforms in EU economies ask for inflows of labour force originating outside Europe. The present paper aims to investigate the concept of integration as a multi-form and multi-layered one, and to tackle the limits of the socio-economic integration of the newcomers, without supporting the populist discourse demonizing the others. We share the belief that EU needs both a new balanced common immigration strategy and well sounded socio-economic integration programs.