CJEU and the Economic Freedoms and Social Rights in the Free Movement of Persons Case Law

SUBSTANTIVE LAW OF THE EU
by (Name)
The Name of the Class (Course)
Professor (Tutor)
The Name of the School (University)
The City and State where it is located
The Date
Substantive Law of the EU
The CJEU in the free movements of persons case law obliges all member states of the EU to allow the free movement of economically active persons including job seekers and employed individuals. In 1993, the Maastricht Treaty gave citizenship to all residents in Members States and their family members, including the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the EU (Class Text, 2023a). However, the type of worker mobility underpinning EU citizenship has resulted in several social issues including the abuse of free movement rights by economically inactive individuals and welfare tourism. These issues highlight the importance of balancing the social and economic objectives of the EU. This essay will describe how the CJEU (Court of Justice of the EU) strikes a balance between economic freedoms and social rights in the free movement of persons case law.
The right to move freely from one Member State to another has been a distinguishing feature of the EU internal market. This right, which was introduced in the Treaty of Rome allowed individuals or companies of a Member State and engaged in economic activity to enjoy freedom of movement subject to derogations on the bases of public health, public security, and public policy (Seubert, 2019; Wiesbrock, 2013). Any individual engaged in economic activity as a worker, self-employed person, or provider of services can take advantage of economic opportunities within the EU: the original purpose of this market integration approach was to ensure that factors of production are optimized and address problems of scarcity (Class Text, 2023b). Free movement of persons is not only important to addressing skill shortages but also solving unemployment in Member States and equalizing labor costs across the EU (Mussche and Lens, 2018). The specific rights concerning the free movement of economically productive individuals discourage discrimination on grounds of nationality including access to housing, access to employment, membership to trade unions, working conditions, access to training, social and tax advantages, and access to education for their children.
However, the enlargement of the EU from the six member states at the time of instituting the Treaty of Rome combined with economic crisis has increased Member State concerns about the implications of free movement on welfare and security. The progressive shift towards a citizenship model has raised issues about the growing divergence between the rights of natural persons and the rights of legal persons. Furthermore, the greater rights for EU nationals has created complications about the status and rights of third country nationals also resident in the EU (Class Text, 2023c). The CJEU strikes a balance between economic freedoms and social rights in the free movement of persons case law by interpreting Treaty provisions in a manner that gives the most effect for the realization of both social and economic objectives (White, 2011; Yong, 2022). One example of how the CJEU balances economic freedoms and social rights in the free ...