European Citizen Action Service, August 2005
ECAS is publishing a first report on free movement of people in the enlarged Union as a start to a hotline.
In its report of September 2004 after a similar hotline entitled the unfinished enlargement, ECAS came to the conclusion that fears of an influx of job seekers from the new member states did not appear to be justified, based on the evidence from travel companies, consulates and individuals. At that time however, no official figures were available.
The report published today, 10th August 2005 is based on official figures from the majority, of EU countries. They show that the actual level of migration between old and new member states is even below the 1% increase forecast at the time of accession. For example, even in the UK the relatively high number of migrants represents only 0.4% of the total population. The report also shows that the enlargement has not triggered a more general coming together of the population of the enlarged Union: movement is piecemeal much higher for some countries than others, concentrating on particular border areas or traditional bilateral links between populations.