Free movement, the welfare state, and the European Union's over‐constitutionalization: Administrating contradictions

The European Union (EU) has to reconcile free movement rights with national welfare states. Case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has broadened rights to welfare of economically inactive or marginally active EU citizens. Applying the Court's jurisprudence, which is vague and specific...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public administration (London) 2017-06, Vol.95 (2), p.437-449
Main Authors: Blauberger, Michael, Schmidt, Susanne K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case law
Citizens
Courts
Criteria
European law
Freedom of movement
Inactive
International courts
Jurisprudence
Justice
Law
Separation of powers
State court decisions
Treaties
Welfare state
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Summary:The European Union (EU) has to reconcile free movement rights with national welfare states. Case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has broadened rights to welfare of economically inactive or marginally active EU citizens. Applying the Court's jurisprudence, which is vague and specific at the same time, poses serious challenges for national administrations. Vague criteria for individual assessments have to be translated into mass procedures. And legislative corrections of the case law are often foreclosed given the EU‘s skewed separation of powers and the over‐constitutionalization of European law, where crucial policy choices are taken by the Court's Treaty interpretation. We compare the British and the German approaches and show that ECJ case law impacts through different channels, but triggers similar challenges for national administrations.
ISSN:0033-3298
1467-9299
DOI:10.1111/padm.12313