The free movement of economically inactive EU citizens: The right to reside test

Abstract

The question of free movement rights of economically inactive citizens and their access to social assistance is a legally controversial and a politically sensitive issue. This is well illustrated by the CJEU’s recent case law which signals a shift in its former jurisprudence towards a more restrictive approach relating to access to social assistance benefits for economically inactive EU citizens. Moreover, the Court’s case law appears to be moving away from the concept of EU citizenship as a general value and common solidarity. The present article aims to give a brief overview of the relevant case law with the aim of seeking answer the question whether this turn in the CJEU’s case law predicts a real paradigm shift or just a consolidation phase in the Court’s jurisprudence.

Keywords

• free movement
• union citizenship
• economically inactive citizens
• social assistance
• social security
• solidarity