ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on the issues concerning the implementation of Directive 2004/38 in the light of access to social assistance benefits for EU citizens in other member states. In several member states the transposition of Directive 2004/38 was used as an occasion to introduce clauses in their social assistance legislation explicitly excluding EU nationals and their family members from entitlement to public assistance during the first three months of residence in another member state. To prevent discrimination the Dutch government took the opportunity of this change of legislation to introduce in the Social Assistance Act the condition of habitual residence for the entitlement of social assistance for all claimants. In some other member states the implementation of Directive 2004/38 has been used to limit the access of jobseekers to job seeking allowances. In 2004 the UK used the accession of the ten new member states to restrict substantially the access to social benefits for all EU migrants.