A report prepared by the ICF-GHK consultancy for the European Commission shows that the overwhelming majority of European migrants moving from one European state to another do so to find work rather than to benefit from social welfare.
A similar study, commissioned by the British Foreign Office and published in April, reached similar conclusions.
This is a conclusion that promises to put an end to an argument widely used on the right of the political spectrum: “welfare tourism” within the European Union is a myth.
In any case, this finding comes at a critical time when European public opinion is divided on the merits of free movement within the Union. Some political leaders even officially consider that certain cities suffer from the costs posed by migrants.
Indeed, this spring, the interior ministers of the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria alerted the European Commission on the subject by sending a joint letter. They denounced the fact that some of their cities are under severe strain due to the influx of numerous European migrants seeking social welfare benefits. At the time, the Commission had expressed doubts and requested factual data.
However, the ICF-GHK study indicates that in most European countries, European migrants make up less than 5% of social welfare recipients. Moreover, the European Commission had already not taken the authors of the letter seriously and instead emphasized that these migrants contribute to the finances of their host countries: if this population as a whole is considered, they would pay more in taxes than they receive in social benefits.
In terms of health, for example, the study’s authors (these are only estimates) suggest that spending on healthcare for unemployed European migrants represents only 0.2% of the total health budget. This share is nonetheless a bit higher in Ireland (1.8 to 2.3%), the United Kingdom (0.7 to 1.1%), and Denmark (0.2 to 0.7%).
And the European Commission goes further. Its spokesperson, Jonathan Todd, stated to the BBC that the study shows that the healthcare systems of the Union’s countries benefit from migration. The Swedish Minister of Labor pointed out that migrants have better employment rates than native citizens.
The ICF-GHK study indicates that two-thirds of unemployed migrants are students, genuinely seeking employment, or retirees, and not simply relatives of those employed who prefer not to work.
The topic is particularly relevant as, starting from January 2014, Bulgarian and Romanian workers will enjoy complete free movement throughout all Union countries, including Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Ireland, Malta, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, which still impose restrictions today. Some, especially across the Channel, are particularly concerned about an influx of new migrants, hence this spring letter.
