No analysis of migration in Europe today can avoid consideration of the role of the EU institutions, as well as the member states, in policy-making. This is because the obstacles for labour mobility which have confronted the EU in the post-enlargement period have been multi-dimensional in nature, have encompassed many different aspects of European integration process, and have operated at many different levels. Recent developments in the free movement of labour in Europe entail a comprehensive analysis of the dynamic of migration policy process, contextualising institutional change, cooperation, control and competition between the EU institutions and the member states. This book provides a picture of how governance of labour migration is constructed, managed, negotiated and decided at the European level. It brings together in an informed and well-organized way some of the key issues in the face of current migration crises and Brexit.

This volume extends and deepens our knowledge about cross-border mobility and its role in an enlarged EU. More specifically, its main purpose is to enlighten the growing and yet rather uninformed debate about the role of post-enlargement migration for economic adjustment in the crisis-stricken labor markets of the Eurozone and the EU as a whole. The book addresses the political economy aspects of post-enlargement migration, including its broader political contexts, redistributive impacts, but also nationalization of the enlargement agenda. It also covers the experience of receiving and sending countries with post-enlargement migration and its role during the current crisis. Renowned experts in the field study, whether and how post-enlargement mobility has enabled the EU to absorb asymmetric economic shocks, how it has affected the European welfare systems, and whether it has contributed to the sustainability of the Eurozone. The authors also evaluate brain circulation as a sought-after vehicle of improved allocative efficiency of EU labor markets and propose a policy agenda for mobility in an enlarged EU.

The economic crisis has caused a surge in intra-European labour mobility, unleashing heated debates about the consequences of large-scale labour migration. This volume improves understanding of the drivers, mechanisms, and effects of the past decade’s surge in cross-border labour mobility and work related migration within Europe.

V šestih prispevkih monografije so analizirani obstoječi in porajajoči se izzivi na področju delovne mobilnosti v Evropski uniji, pri čemer jih avtorji obravnavajo skozi prizmo mobilnih delavcev v različnih poklicih. Z večdisciplinarnim pristopom in uporabo različnih metodoloških prijemov so avtorji ustvarili ogrodje za analitične diskusije o učinkih mobilnosti v EU, učinkovitosti in pravičnosti prostega pretoka oseb znotraj EU ter večplastnosti posledic za posameznike, države članice in nacionalne politike. Prvi prispevek je teoretski uvod v tematiko, ki mobilnost izčrpno predstavi kot teoretski koncept, politično agendo in temeljno evropsko vrednoto. Kompleksni preplet mnogoterih učinkov delovne mobilnosti, ki se pojavljajo na več ravneh, je v nadaljevanju obravnavan v petih študijah primera. Le-te osvetljujejo dileme, paradokse, učinke in posledice notranje mobilnosti v EU na primerih mobilnih zdravstvenih delavcev, umetnikov in kulturnih delavcev, napotenih delavcev, skrbstvenih delavk in visoko izobraženih delavcev. Vsi predstavljeni primeri so rezultat večletnih znanstvenoraziskovalnih prizadevanj in aktivnega delovanja avtorjev v različnih projektih s področja mobilnosti.

The paradox between the need for international labour migration to counter the impending demographic crisis in Europe and the lack of commensurate policy instruments to attract and integrate labour migration from third countries into the EU is one of the key strategic issues for Europe. Upon request by the LIBE committee, this research paper reviews the social and economic context of EU international labour migration policy, the status of relevant EU legislation and the available policy options from a comprehensive labour market perspective, as well as their feasibility. These options for opening up legal labour migration channels to the EU should be considered in the framework of the ongoing discussion over the European Agenda on Migration.