ABSTRACT
From the very beginning, free movement of persons has been subject of continuous disputes and struggles between the diverse actors, together making up the EU. This chapter discusses why did European states agreed to these rules granting rights to non-citizens and inevitably reducing the state's possibilities to control or restrict their movement and integration? To which persons were those new rights granted? How did Member States implement and apply these EU rules and, finally, what are the visible effects for the migrants and the majority of non-mobile EU nationals? Why is freedom of movement in the EU today both taken for granted and under attack? The three sets of rules on free movement were top-down political decisions. They were primarily based on economic considerations (reduce unemployment and development of internal market) and on security considerations (political stability and integration of immigrants).
