Evaluation of the Impact of the Free Movement of EU Citizens at Local Level
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Evaluation of the impact of the free movement of EU citizens at local level Final Report January 2014 Evaluation of the impact of free movement of EU citizens at local level –Final Report Contents Executive summary ........................................................................................................................... 4 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 6 1.1 The context.......................................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 This study ............................................................................................................................................ 7 1.3 Contents of the report ........................................................................................................................ 10 2 Intra-EU mobility: trends and patterns ....................................................................................... 11 2.1 The free movement of EU citizens for work, family, study and business reasons: a growing phenomenon 11 2.2 Trends and patterns in the six cities ..................................................................................................... 13 3 Local policies and impacts at local level ...................................................................................... 19 3.1 The City of Barcelona ......................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 The City of Dublin ............................................................................................................................... 40 3.3 The City of Hamburg ........................................................................................................................... 66 3.4 The City of Lille .................................................................................................................................. 87 3.5 The City of Prague ............................................................................................................................ 111 3.6 The City of Turin .............................................................................................................................. 131 4 Lessons learned: local policies, economic and social impacts of intra-EU mobility......................... 150 4.1 The governance of inclusion policies: main approaches ....................................................................... 150 4.2 Inclusion policies: an overview .......................................................................................................... 153 4.3 The Economic impacts of intra-EU mobility......................................................................................... 157 4.4 Social impacts and related policy initiatives ........................................................................................ 163 4.5 An inventory of best practices ........................................................................................................... 170 Annexes ....................................................................................................................................... 195 Annex 1. Detailed econometric analysis ...................................................................................... 196 Annex 2. Complete mapping of inclusion policies in the six cities ................................................... 211 Annex 3. Survey and interviews .................................................................................................. 252 Annex 4. List of sources ............................................................................................................. 258 2 Evaluation of the impact of free movement of EU citizens at local level –Final Report This study has been commissioned by the European Commission, DG JUSTICE. The information and views set out in this study are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this study. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. 3 Evaluation of the impact of free movement of EU citizens at local level –Final Report Executive summary In the European Year of Citizens, as part of the concrete actions of the European Commission to promote the EU free movement rights, the present study has been commissioned to gain a better understanding of the application on the ground of the “Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States”. The evaluation discusses the economic and social impacts of intra-EU mobility at local level, explores the local policies addressed at fostering the successful inclusion and participation of EU mobile citizens, and provides an inventory of best practices. Six cities promoting a “welcome culture” have been selected as case studies: Barcelona, Dublin, Hamburg, Lille, Prague, and Turin. In some of these cities, between 2004 and 2011, the presence of EU mobile citizens has become significant, varying from 2% of total population in Lille to 9% in Dublin, and has implied a range of economic and social impacts, as well as new challenges for the governance and policy system of the six cities. The growing trends of intra-EU mobility has led to the inflow of young and working-age EU mobile citizens who appear to be contributing to the economy of the hosting cities by filling gaps in the labour market and by supporting the development or sustainment of some core sectors of the local economy. For the most part, EU mobile citizens take up work in the sectors characterising the local economy, at the extremes of the skills spectrum. EU mobile citizens tend to cover low-skilled occupations, which can be considered less attractive for native employees and where the mismatching between nationals’ qualifications and demand for low-skilled labour is likely to be more significant, as well as more high skilled occupations. Entrepreneurship is another relevant area of impact of intra-EU mobility: in some cases, EU mobile citizens are increasingly contributing to the creation of entrepreneurial activities at local level. The results of the study confirm that internal EU mobility can bring some benefits in terms of economic output of the host communities, whereas negative economic impacts are clearly excluded. At the same time, intra-EU mobility is also producing social and cultural impacts, by influencing local communities and their well-being, with effects on several areas such as housing, the education system, social cohesion and relations between the newcomers and the host communities. The overall evidence suggests that this situation is not placing major issues and burdens on the local communities or local public services1, whereas issues related to discrimination are being gradually overcome and positive attitudes towards migration and mobility are generally recorded. However, EU mobile citizens do not always benefit from the same opportunities as native citizens when it comes to labour market conditions, housing options, or full inclusion of children in the schools. Also, the interaction with local citizens and the participation in the city’s civic and political life appear still limited. The need to manage challenges and maximising benefits that intra-EU mobility can actually produce have drawn the attention of policy makers towards the adoption of new and comprehensive policy responses, accompanied by a gradual shift towards the creation of more inclusive and welcoming societies. The Directive 2004/38/EC did not imply direct and major changes in the governance structure and in the policy approaches: cities appear to rely on services and institutions dealing with all foreign nationals (or with all citizens), rather than provide new and specific services for EU citizens moving across Member States. Nevertheless, new approaches have been or are being introduced in all the cases investigated and a vast range of inclusion and welcome policies are actually promoted. Covering several fields, these are aimed at providing improved and accessible information through one-stop-shop services addressed to newcomers, strengthening language knowledge, as one of the main barriers to mobility or successful 1 Although the lack of data at the local level does not permit a comprehensive assessment, evidence suggests that intra-EU mobility does not place major problems and burdens on the local public services. 4 Evaluation of the impact of free movement of EU citizens at local level –Final Report inclusion, promoting educational policies which recognize and address diversity, enhancing the dialogue and the reciprocal understanding between citizens from different backgrounds while tackling discrimination and negative attitudes, and promoting the full participation of EU mobile citizens in the political and civic life of the host community. Based on these fields of action, the best examples of effective or promising practices implemented in the six cities have been identified. 5 Evaluation of the impact of free movement of EU citizens at local level –Final Report 1 Introduction 1.1 The context “Directive 2004/38/EC