Blog Post
In 2018, 320 million trips were made between EU countries and almost 2 million people crossed Schengen borders to go to work. Stopping them would cause serious economic disruption.
Blog Post
The debate on Brexit focuses on the economic and political consequences for the United Kingdom, but ignores the impact of the new EU-UK agreement on the EU. Regardless of the referendum result, the agreement will have serious consequences and will negatively affect prospects for European integration.
Blog Post
Attempts to stem the flow of refugees to Europe have so far had little success. Two months into 2016, we take a detailed look at the numbers of the refugee crisis and the European response.
Opinion
The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, recently warned that “without Schengen and the free movement of workers, of citizens, the euro makes no sense.” And in fact, it is the single currency and the ability to travel freely without identity documents that most Europeans associate with the EU. So how does it really stand with Schengen and the euro?
Blog Post
With the limits of Schengen being continuously tested, this chart looks at the possible economic implications of controls on cross-border traffic.
Blog Post
Almost 1.7 million Schengen residents were cross-border commuters in 2014. These charts show data on commuting in the Schengen area and intra-EU trips.
Blog Post
What’s at stake: From January 2014, full freedom of movement – the right to move, reside and work freely in any EU country– applies to citizens of Bulgaria and Romania. This has not been universally welcomed. Political opposition to freedom of movement has seen a resurgence. In the UK, Prime Minister David Cameron has sharply tightened the policy on immigration, restricting benefit access for foreigners and campaigning for caps on inflows to be allowed in the EU. In Germany, cities sounded the alarm bell, warning of burdens created by poor – mainly Roma – immigrants. And in Switzerland, a referendum has been passed calling for restrictions on the number of foreigners allowed to live and work in the country.
Blog Post
What’s at stake: Due to a series of factors (the consequences of the economic crisis, ageing population, cutbacks in the welfare state, the political crisis in North Africa…) migration issues have become a central political topic and are taking an increasingly important role for economic policy considerations. The Agreement reached by an extraordinary EU ministerial meeting to adopt conditions under which border control could be reinstated, effectively weakening the Schengen area is a good illustration of migration policy crashing with the principles of free movement of labour, which has a broad range of consequences ranging from labour markets flexibility, financing of welfare and ageing related expenditures but also free movement of capital and the governance of the monetary union. If events allow, Van Rompuy wants to focus the forthcoming June European Council meeting on border control, immigration and refugee policy.
