scholarly journals The Roma and European Union citizenship: in search of a humane answer from the EU

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuno Ferreira ◽  
Dora Kostakopoulou

The expulsion of large numbers of Roma individuals from France since 2009 has raised considerable debate in the context of EU law and policy. This was, however, accompanied by other discriminatory practices and forms of hostility, exclusion and violence against the Roma, such as finger-printing in Italy and educational segregation in the Czech Republic. A comprehensive approach and strong action by the EU against these practices was defended, which led to the Commission communication on the EU Framework on National Roma Integration Strategies (2011), a non-binding Parliament resolution (2013) and the Council recommendation on effective Roma integration measures in the member states (2013). Such comprehensive approach may be in many respects appropriate, but the danger is to neglect the true relevance of concrete, enforceable and ‘hard law’ measures. This chapter thus explores the legal adequacy of EU action with regard to the Roma minority, particularly from free movement and EU citizenship perspectives. The scope for derogations from free movement and from the rights associated with EU citizenship are the centre pieces of this analysis, which critically analyses specific EU Member States’ restrictions on the free movement of the Roma minority and the EU response in this and other relevant aspects.

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Belinda Brucker Juricic ◽  
Mario Galic ◽  
Sasa Marenjak

This paper reviews the recent literature on skill and labour shortages in the labour market with special emphasis on the construction sector in the European Union Member States, foreseeing the Construction 4.0 era. The free movement of people is one of the rights of all citizens of the EU which also includes the free movement of workers. Labour shortages in the EU are expected to increase in the future due to a declining population and an ageing workforce. In order to recognize and forecast labour shortages, EU Member states use a variety of instruments but they do not answer as to whether it is possible to use migrant labour to appease those shortages. There are several systems used to classify labour shortages in the EU Member states. Most of the countries classify labour shortages in relation to different sectors or occupation groups as well as by skill levels, but in some Member States, classification is made according to the type of employment. Instruments used to measure labour shortages significantly differ from country to country. Several criteria are used for creating lists of shortage occupations and most of the criteria include demand side and supply side criteria. A majority of the Member States are facing labour and skill shortages in various sectors and the construction sector is not an exception. As total employment in the construction sector decreased, so did the share of employed migrants. Labour shortages in the construction sector can be eased by the availability of a labour supply willing to accept unqualified and low-paying jobs. The construction sector seeks low-, medium-, and high-skilled individuals and is most likely the sector where most of the incoming migrants will be working, which has an impact on the development and implementation dynamic of Construction 4.0.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-66
Author(s):  
Saila Heinikoski

This article discusses how the right to free movement within the European Union is presented as a matter of obligation, a duty of the other EU member states, in the discourse of Romanian Presidents and Prime Ministers (2005–2015). An examination of speeches and other statements from these politicians illuminates Romanian political reactions during the period when Romania became an EU member state, and reflects perceptions of Europeanness and European agreements. These issues take on an additional contemporary significance in the context of the Brexit negotiations, and they also add to the broader debate on whether EU norms and obligations are seen as being both just and equally applied. By analysing different types of argumentative topoi, I examine the deontological (obligation-based) argumentation employed in the free movement context. Furthermore, I examine to what extent these arguments are invoked in support of the right to free movement and who this right applies to. I argue that for Romanian politicians, deontological free movement arguments are connected to other states’ compliance with European treaties and to demands for equal application of European rules without discrimination, or the delegation of responsibility to others. This manifested itself most frequently in the calls for the EU and its member states to do their duty by treating Romanians equally to other EU citizens.


2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees Groenendijk

AbstractSeveral States require immigrants from outside the EU to participate in language or integration courses after arrival. In recent years, some EU Member States made passing a language test (Netherlands and Germany) or participating in a language course (France) a condition for a visa for family reunification for immigrants from certain third countries. Denmark and the UK introduced a similar requirement in 2010. The focus of his article is on three aspects: the political debate, the legal constraints and the effects. Firstly, the development of the pre-departure integration strategies is analyzed. What was the rationale behind the introduction and does is vary between Member States? Secondly, the legal constraints of EU and international law are discussed. Finally, the results of the first studies evaluating this policy instrument are presented. Is pre-departure a good predictor for immigrant’s ability to integrate? Does it actually assist integration, and what are the unexpected or counterproductive effects?


Subject Reactions to Brexit among eastern EU member states. Significance Leaders of the Visegrad Group (V4) of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have called for a major institutional overhaul of the EU following the UK vote to leave the EU ('Brexit'). They singled out the EU's handling of the migration crisis as a key factor behind the 'Leave' victory in the UK referendum, and rejected calls from Brussels and several member states for closer integration, instead demanding that powers be repatriated to national capitals to restore citizens' trust and make the EU more democratically accountable. Impacts The V4 will seek to mend relations with Berlin, in the relatively favourable political constellation in Germany before the 2017 elections. V4 governments will aim to hold 'mini-lateral' consultations with the United Kingdom on the terms of its planned exit from the EU. Brexit will dominate Slovakia's EU presidency, with V4 coordinating their responses to help limit the negative fallout for the region.


2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (No, 7) ◽  
pp. 303-310
Author(s):  
A. Škorpíková

The paper is a part of the solution of the research plan of the FBE MUAF in Brno, No. GAMSM 431100007, and it is focused on the analysis of factors influencing competitiveness of the wine-growing and viniculture. This paper is based on the hypothesis that the competitiveness of the viniculture and wine sector could be influenced, amongst other things, by specific national conditions as defined by “Porter’s diamond”. This essay deals with factor conditions like the total area of vineyards, the average per hectare yield of grapes, the total wine production and wine consumption including the foreign trade with this commodity. The comparison of the chosen national conditions is made within the EU member states and also within six candidate countries – Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.


2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (NO. 7) ◽  
pp. 333-342
Author(s):  
D. Nerudová ◽  
P. David

There still exist the differences in the legal frame of VAT, its interpretation and application of the rules in practice between the EU member states. The application of VAT during providing management services to an enterprise in other EU state directly or through a subsidiary in the state of the recipient is different as well. Questions of the VAT application during the provision of management services were searched by using standard methods of the scientific work in the frame of five selected EU countries – Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-83
Author(s):  
Adam A. Ambroziak ◽  

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an extraordinary event for the EU Member States and a period wherein EU legislation and the efficiency of EU institutions have been put to the test. The crisis triggered by the decisions made by governments in Europe (which were motivated by their wishes to protect the health and lives of their peoples and to satisfy the rapid demand for drugs, personal protective equipment, and medical devices) disrupted market forces. Although most of these measures were based on both domestic and EU legislation, they seriously hindered the smooth functioning of the EU Single Market, including the free movement of goods. This paper aims to find out whether EU legislation succeeded in coping with the challenges triggered by COVID-19 in the field of international trade and whether measures taken by the European Commission with a view to complying with the rules of the EU Single Market adequately took care of the needs stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak and whether it properly tackled protectionist instruments adopted by the Member States. We have focused on international trade and the free movement of goods within the EU as they both constitute the cornerstone of EU economic integration. We found that although EU legislation was not tailored specifically for the times of a COVID-19 pandemic, in the area of international trade (including intra-EU trade), as well as in the field of placing goods on the market, it provided extraordinary solutions. Apparently, the explanations and guidelines provided by the Commission have limited the scope of individual protectionist and interventionist actions of the Member States.


SEER ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-58
Author(s):  
Frederic De Wispelaere ◽  
Gabriella Berki ◽  
Snjezana Balokovic

This article discusses the potential impact of the free movement of persons in the EU on the Montenegrin social security system. It can be argued that three variables will be of great importance: 1) mobility between Montenegro and other EU member states; 2) social security legislation in Montenegro; and 3) the social security Coordination Regulations. The scale of migration will be highly dependent on whether there are transitional arrangements and whether neighbouring countries, not least Serbia, join the EU at the same time. In order to avoid an erosion of the workforce and consequently of people paying taxes in Montenegro, it might be useful to negotiate transitional arrangements as well as to promote oth er types of labour mobility, such as intra-EU posting. Furthermore, it can be expected that Montenegro’s accession will have financial and administrative implications in the area of healthcare. After all, accession to the EU will lead to a further increase in the number of tourists and thus of the amount that Montenegro will have to recover from member states if unplanned healthcare has been provided in Montenegro.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 69-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artur Gruszczak

This article takes up in the form of an interdisciplinary legal and political analysis the issue of the incorporation of the Schengen acquis into European Union law and the national legal systems of the EU member states in the light of the concept of a hybrid system of territorial governance. Accordingly, the Schengen acquis stimulated the process of intersecting the interests of internal security and the protection of Member States’ borders with the supranational ideological imperative with regard to the principle of free movement of persons. The argument developed in this article is that the incorporation of the Schengen acquis into EU law consolidated hybridity of the legal and institutional construction of the EU after the Amsterdam Treaty as a result of the contradiction between the logic of political bargain at the intergovernmental level and the vertical spillover generated at the supranational level in the institutional and decision-making dimensions. The conclusions point to the emergence, as a result of “schengenisation”, of the area of freedom, security and justice in the EU, in which the principle of free movement of people brought about diversification of the states’ adaptation mechanisms in relation to the ideologically determined project of transformation of the system of management of the territory and borders within the European Union.


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