bEUcitizen: All Rights Reserved? Barriers towards European citizenship

bEUcitizen: All Rights Reserved? Barriers to European Citizenship was a European research endeavour by a consortium of 26 universities coordinated by Utrecht University. The research involved an EU subsidy of €6.5 million. The research, which began in May 2013 and ran for a period of four years, was directed towards identifying obstacles that EU citizens encounter in the exercise of their citizenship rights and obligations. What are the reasons for these impediments; what are the possibilities for the European Union to further develop the notion of European citizenship in the future?

The research aimed to gain insights into: the obstacles faced by European citizens when they exercise their rights; the possible contradictions between economic, social, political and civil citizenship rights; and the conceptualisation thereof at the European and national level.  Collectively the programme adopted a multidisciplinary approach and involved international comparative research.  Colleagues within DPSI focussed specifically on the exercise of social rights for European Citizens within the context of the UK.

Further information about the overall research programme can be found via the following link: http://beucitizen.eu/

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 320294.

DSPI Principal Investigator: Professor Martin Seelib-Kaiser
Funded by: European Union

Completed: 2016

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Ehata, Rebecca; Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin (2017) "Benefit Tourism and EU Migrant Citizens: Real-world Experiences", Hudson, John; Needham, Catherine and Heins, Elke ed.,Social Policy Review 29. Bristol: Policy Press, 181-197

Ehata, Rebecca; Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin (2017) "Benefit Tourism and EU Migrant Citizens: Real-world Experiences", Hudson, John; Needham, Catherine and Heins, Elke ed.,Social Policy Review 29. Bristol: Policy Press, 181-197

Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin (2018) "Citizenship, Europe and Social Rights", Seubert, Sandra et al. ed.,Moving Beyond Barriers: Prospects for EU Citizenship?. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar

Bruzelius, Cecilia; Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin (2017) "European citizenship and social rights", Kennett, Patricia; Lendvai-Bainton, Noemi ed.,Handbook of European Social Policy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar

Bruzelius, Cecilia; Chase, Elaine; Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin (2016) "Social Rights of EU Migrant Citizens: Britain and Germany Compared", Social Policy and Society 15: 3 403-416. doi: 10.1017/S1474746415000585

Bruzelius, Cecilia; Reinprecht, Constantin; Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin (2017) "Stratified Social Rights Limiting EU Citizenship", Journal of Common Market Studies Early View . URL: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1468-5965/earlyview. Download

Bruzelius, Cecilia; Reinprecht, Constantin; Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin (2017) "Stratifizierte soziale Rechte und Unionsbürgerschaft", WSI-Mitteilungen : 6 398-408

RELATED OUTPUTS

  • Cecilia Bruzelius, Elaine Chase, Cornelia Hueser and Martin Seeleib-Kaiser (2014): The Social Construction of European Citizenship and Associated Social Rights View Online
  • Elaine Chase, Martin Seeleib-Kaiser (2014): Migration, EU Citizenship, and Social Europe View Online
  • Bruzelius, Cecilia; Chase, Elaine; Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin (2014): Semi-Sovereign Welfare States, Social Rights of EU Migrant Citizens and the Need for Strong State Capacities View Online

 

  1. What are the different motivations for EU citizens to migrate to the UK?
  2.  What expectations (if any) did EU citizens migrating to the UK have of their social rights to healthcare, housing, social protection and subsidiary ‘safety net’ support?
  3. Under what circumstances (if at all) have EU Citizens in the UK exercised these social rights? (including exporting or accessing rights to or from their ‘home country’ after arriving in the UK)
  4. What factors facilitated and/or inhibited the exercise of these rights while residing in the UK?
  5. Have their perceptions of social rights changed in any way since moving to the UK?
  6. How might we best investigate EU citizens’ perceptions, expectations of and de facto access to social rights across the European Union?

The research included: focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with EU Citizens from Poland, Spain, Germany and Romania living in the UK; interviews with service providers with whom EU Citizens are likely to engage in order to exercise their social rights; and a review of anonymised advice centre case files.

PUBLIC EVENT: DOES EU FREE MOVEMENT WORK FOR MANCHESTER? 21/10/15

OPEN FORUM: WORKING WITH EU MIGRANT CITIZENS IN GREATER MANCHESTER 08/09/15

PUBLIC EVENT: MAKING FREE MOVEMENT WORK 15/06/15

OPEN FORUM: WORKING WITH EU MIGRANT CITIZENS IN OXFORDSHIRE 08/03/15