UK Government call for review of freedom of movement principle

4.9.2015

Question for written answer E-012507-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Nicola Danti (S&D)

The UK Home Secretary, Theresa May, recently called for a review of the principle of freedom of movement (a right which forms the basis for the internal market and plays a key role in boosting growth and employment), maintaining that it was the principal cause of the current migration crisis inside the EU.

The UK Government is seeking to restrict this right (which is enshrined in Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and applies to Schengen and non-Schengen Member States alike) in order to allow other EU nationals to stay in the UK only if they have a job.

The measures announced include new restrictions on the length of time Europeans who enter the UK on a student visa may stay in the country.

Would the Commission agree that the UK Government's stance is in breach of the right to freedom of movement within the EU?

How does it intend to respond to the UK Government's stance on immigration, not least in the light of the UK's stated intention to renegotiate the terms of its membership of the EU? Might the action taken include the imposition of sanctions?