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The
EU and Migration
The
Single Market and Free Movement
Since
its inception the European Union has had the objective of establishing
a single market. This objective has been
actively pursued since the earliest days of the European Economic
Area - the forerunner to the European Union - and in 1968 a regulation
promoting the right to free movement for workers and their families,
and the guarantee of equality of treatment, was adopted by the European
Council (Council Regulation 1612/68/EEC). This was followed with a
directive creating a 'right of establishment' for self-employed persons,
and rights for service providers and recipients to cross frontiers
without hindrance (Directive 73/148//EEC). A further directive was
adopted during the initial period of the development of the legal
framework aimed at dealing with the circumstances in which member
states might exclude EU citizens from free movement rights (on grounds
of 'public policy', 'public security' and 'public health' Directive
64/221/EEC).
These
legislative instruments, and others adopted during
succeeding years, were consolidated into a single 'Citizens' Directive
(Directive 2004/38/EC) which came into effect across the EU on 30
April 2006. Taken together the measures
create a clear and enforceable rights for EU citizens to move freely
and reside and work in the territory of the members states, to be
joined in the exercise of free movement by family members, and to
be treated equally with citizens of the member state in which they
reside in all matters pertaining to employment and business activity,
and other areas of 'tax and social advantage'. The right of member
states to exclude or limit the free movement rights of individuals
has been considered by the EU's leading judicial authority, the European
Court of Justice, on a number of occasions, and it is settled that
this is only permissible in circumstances when the presence of the
individual constitutes and real and active threat to public order,
security, or public health.
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