FREE MOVEMENT & NATIONAL WELFARE 20 November 2013 Jörg Tagger, Deputy Head of Unit "Free movement of workers and coordination of social security systems"
Welfare Benefits for mobile EEA citizens in a changed environment Change of political and ecomomic context (enlargment, financial crisis, austerity measures etc); Ongoing debate about free movement and welfare benefits in certain Member States ("Benefit tourismn", "Poverty Migration") What are the facts and figures? Recent EC commissoned study on the financial impact of non-actives on residence based social security schemes Outlook Actions proposed by the European Commission
Key Figures Mobility 20.3 Millions third-country nationals in the EU (4.0%) 14.11 Millions EU citizens living i in another member State (2.8%) 20% interested to move to another country but 1.2% with firm intentions (planning to move in next 12 months) 1.2 million frontier workers 1.2 million certificates for posted workers 3
Access to social security for EU migrants is regulated by a coordination system (Regulations 883/2004 & 987/2009) Right to reside and access to social assistance sta is regulated by Directive 2004/38 4
Social security coordination principles Only one legislation applicable Equality of treatment Continuity of the insurance - No gap No double payments Prevention of conflicts of law No discrimination on the basis of nationality Export of cash benefits No need to come back to receive benefits Aggregation of insurance periods Neutrality of the European career Maintenance of acquired rights
Social security coordination Social security coordination EP and Council shall adopt measures in the field of social security which are necessary to provide freedom of movement for workers Coordination of social Security schemes Link different systems SCOPE All EU nationals who are covered under national legislation Extended to non-eu EEA countries and Switzerland Statutory schemes 32 countries
Which country is responsible for my social security? I moved to another Member State as Civil servant I'm insured for social security in From day 1 MS of the administration employing him/her Posted worker Air and cabin crew Seafarers Sending MS MS of "home base" (Self) employed From day 1 MS of activity "Flag" State unless residence in the MS where the employer is located Non active persons (Unemployed Student t Pensioner non active family members) After successfully passingthe Habitual MS of residence Residence test (Center of interest) Length and Duration of stay Motivation of move; Family situation; Housing; Intention
Fact Finding Analysis: Impact on the Member States' social security systems of the entitlement of non active intra-eu Migrants to residence based SNCBs and health care benefits GHK consultent in association with Milieu Ltd Published: October 2013 Scope: Special non-contributory Benefits and residence based health care benefits Non-active mobile EU citizens Methodology: Existing sources (previous reports, research) Statistics (Eurostat, EU-SILC, EU LFS etc.) Stakeholder interviews Case studies (AT, NL, UK and FR)
Mobility flows in the EU is driven by people looking for a job abroad and better working conditions Reasons why people would consider working abroad % Eurobarometer 2013 9
Mobility flows in the EU is driven by people looking for a job abroad and therefore by employment opportunities i in the receiving i countries EU12 EU15 Main reasons to move to another MS % of Eurobarometer respondents 10
EU mobile workers are not evenly distributed across EU destination countries. They are rather concentrated in a limited i number of countries EU foreigners as a share of the total population % end 2012 11
Share of mobile EU citizens compared to non-eu nationals In addition, in most Member States the share of non-eu nationals is higher than the share of mobile EU citizens. End of 2012 Source: Eurostat migration statistics, supplemented by Eurostat EU LFS quarterly data, national data sources and DG EMPL estimates 12
The crisis had a negative impact on mobility flows Mobility declined sharply between 2008 and 2010 (-41%), but recovered (+22%) somewhat in 2011 and 2012. Source: DG EMPL calculations based on Eurostat LFS. Note: BE not included as a destination country due to problems with the variable 'Years of residence'. 13
and changes are partly driven by labour market situation in origin countries Recent arrivals of EU citizens into other EU countries 14
Economically non active EU migrants only represent between 0,7% and 1,0% of EU population In Denmark: 0,7% In the UK: 1,2% Activity rates among EU migrants have increased 15
EU Migrants more active than nationals EU migrants more likely to be economically active than nationals living in the same country y(population p > 15 years old) In the EU as a whole in 2012, 61% of EU migrants active vs. 52% of national population Economically active in % 2012 (EU) 16
EU migrants are low users of welfare benefits UK DWP 2013 Study EU citizens represent only 2.1 % of claimants of benefits in the UK EU 1/3 country And have a much lower receipt rate (6.4%) than UK nationals (16.4%) 17
Economically non active EU migrants account for a very small share of beneficiaries of social pensions, disability allowances and noncontributory job-seekers allowances Less than 1% of all such beneficiaries Between 1% and 5% Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Malta, Portugal Germany, Finland, France, Netherlands, Sweden 18
Around 90% of EU mobile citizens being unemployed lost their job in their current country of residence and not before migrating 19
Vast majority of non-active EU migrants are relatives of economically active EU citizen EU: 79% vs 21% Activity rates among EU migrants have increased 80 60 40 Relative of active EU citizen Non relative of active EU citizen 20 0 EU 20
The economic impact of intra EU mobility is positive GDP of EU-15 estimated to have increased by almost 1% in the long-term as a result of post-enlargement mobility (2004-2009) Recent intra-eu mobility flows generated an overall income gain of around 24 billion EUR for EU citizens Migrants tend to be finacial NET contributors to the budget of host state (true for all migrants, and even more so for EU migrants; source: OECD) 21
Commission' actions Communication "Free Movement of European Citizens and their Families Five Actions that make a difference" (November 2013) Guidelines for social security institutions on how to apply Habitual Residence Test Online tool on free movement rights to help staff in local authorities to understand and apply EU rules Handbook on "Marriages of Convenience" Organisation of a conference with mayors in spring 2014 on the development of free movement rights Support to integration measures through European Social Fund (as from 2014, 20% will be assigned to social inclusion)
Link to Study: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langid=en&catid=89&newsid=1980& furthernews=yes