The reality of free movement for young European citizens

The freedom to move and reside freely within the EU allows every European citizen to live and work in another Member State. This right has been increasingly used during the financial crisis by young Europeans who migrated to seek work and life opportunities in countries that offer better prospects. While EU citizens value highly the freedom of movement, the reality looks more complicated: several barriers occur before, during or after moving and problems are reported in relation to legislation, administrative procedures but also stereotypes and discriminatory practices.

The objective of the project “The reality of free movement for young European citizens migrating in times of crisis” is to look into the reality of free movement from the viewpoint of young Europeans (age 25-35) who exercise or plan to exercise this right and:

15 EU Member States that have experienced increased outgoing migration (Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania) or incoming migration (Germany, Belgium, Austria, Netherlands, UK, France, Italy) in the last 4 years will be studied with a mixed-method approach that combines: a) empirical field research through structured interviews with young people and national authorities in the participating countries b) data collection and targeted legal research in all partner countries; c) socio-legal analysis of the data collected and d) comparative analysis of the findings.

The project is expected to:

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