On 26 April, the European Commission sent a reasoned opinion, second step of the infringement procedure, to the UK, formally requesting it to comply with EU rules on the free movement of EU citizens and their families across the EU. According to the European Commission the UK has committed to amend its rules to ensure compliance with the Free Movement Directive in several areas, but there are four issues which have not been resolved yet.
The Commission has therefore requested the UK to grant the right to non-EU family members of EU citizens, who hold a valid residence card issued by one EU country, to travel together with EU citizens within the EU without an entry visa. Moreover, the Government would be required to allow extended family members of EU citizens to apply to have their residence in the UK considered even before the arrival to the UK of the EU citizen on whom they are dependent. The Commission also noted that the UK is allowed, under EU law, to temporarily keep in place a work-permit scheme for workers from Bulgaria and Romania, but it is breaching EU law by not issuing to workers from Romania and Bulgaria during the first 12 months the same residence documents as workers from other EU Member States. Under the Free Movement Directive, EU citizens who live in another EU country but do not work there are required to have enough resources and sickness insurance. The UK requires private health insurance. However, according to the Commission the UK has also breached EU Law by not considering entitlement to treatment by the NHS as sufficient to allow EU citizens who live but have no job in the UK to stay in the country for more than three months. The Commission is therefore requiring the Government to allow jobless EU citizens who want to reside in the UK to claim the NHS as their sickness insurance. According to the Financial Times “Officials argue that the NHS cannot be seen as an insurance policy to anyone in the EU and that the controls are essential to ensuring economically inactive EU citizens do not place an undue burden on the state.” They are absolutely right, as reported by the Express such move could cost taxpayers around £1billion a year.
The UK has now two months to amend its national rules in order to comply with the reasoned opinion and to notify to the Commission the measures it has taken to implement the Directive. Failing this, the Commission may refer the case to the European Court of Justice, which may impose financial penalties on the UK.
