Labour Migration Flows Following The EU Eastern Enlargement Current And Future Trends

It was only in 2007 that the European Union (EU) reached its current size; consisting of 27 member states, as an economic union, it is now the largest economy of the world. But how will this economy, the European single market, continue to develop; how will the freedom of movement for workers among those 27 countries impact this development; and is it possible to make full use of the talent found within the European labour pool to help the EU recover from the recent financial crisis and improve technological innovation? Having in mind that 2007 was the year in which not only the EU eastern enlargement was completed, but also the global economic crisis was beginning, this paper tries to examine the migration flows following the eastern enlargement and the challenges caused by a global decline in economic activity to the freedom of movement for workers. The paper is arranged in chronological order following the key stages of the policy of freedom of movement for workers, from the idea to the development, the realization and actual implementation to future trends, therein combining a theoretical base with real outcomes. It analyses the migration flows after the EU eastern enlargement and points to likely future developments. The main focus lies on the restrictions that are still imposed on workers from certain new member states and special attention is given to the EU labour market as a whole just as to the labour markets of the individual member states; the effect on economic development and social system caused by changes in the allocation of labour; and potential future developments, challenges and possible solutions. The paper comes to the following conclusion:To realize the right to free movement for workers and create a single labour market with common rules and regulations, a high level of cooperation is needed. This cooperation, however, took not place in to a satisfying degree. Yet the migration flows were less influenced by policies but more by the actual demand for labour. Thus it was also possible that some countries quickly changed their status from attracting many immigrants to sending out many labour migrants.