Intra-EU Migration
Migration of people from one member state to another for work, study, and to live, has been a pillar of the European project since its foundation in the 1950s. During the early years of the project when most member states had relatively similar living standards and wages, migration flows within the bloc were generally low, with exceptions such as Irish emigration to the United Kingdom and Italian emigration to Germany. With the entrance into the EU of 8 formerly communist countries in central and eastern Europe in 2004, however, migration flows within the union dramatically picked up. As many countries, notably Germany, chose to enact a transition period which limited migration from new member states for a period of seven years, these flows were directed towards countries which sought migration from CEE countries, notably the UK, Ireland, and Sweden.Since the normalization of CEE member states citizens' right to freedom of movement within the EU, citizens from these countries have emigrated to a wider range of countries. Romanians and Poles are the two largest groups of intra-EU migrants, with many people from these countries migrating for work in Germany, Italy, and Spain. As a share of their population, Romania is the country with the most citizens in other EU countries, while Croatia and Bulgaria have similarly high levels of migration, all with over 10 percent of their population living abroad in the EU. Germany is the EU member state which hosts the greatest number of intra-EU migrants, with over 4.5 million non-German EU citizens living in the country. Nonetheless, as a share of population Luxembourg is by far and away the EU country with the most intra-EU migrants, with 38 percent of the Grand Duchy’s population being intra-EU migrants.