2 Chapter 1 on the EU to revise freedom of movement rules in order to make it more difficult for EU mobile citizens to access welfare in other EU countries2. The letter argued that the EU members with more generous welfare systems attract larger numbers of EU citizens from those EU members where the standard of living may be lower and benefits less generous, thereby affecting the sustainability of Western welfare states. In 2016, concerns regarding immigration and the welfare state played a critical role in the UK’s EU referendum campaign (Heath et al., 2020). At times, the politicisation of EU citizens’ rights appeared to follow traditional cleavages between left and right, but between the choice for a “hard Brexit” over a “soft Brexit” in order to ensure barriers are in place to stop the free movement of people from the EU and the fall of the “red wall” in the 2018 British general elections (traditional Labour voters switching their vote to the Conservative Party), it has become clear that it is no longer such a straightforward division. Those who traditionally supported the left and greater socio-economic redistribution were voting for the right in order to express their desires for greater border controls and restrictions on immigration (Goodwin et al., 2022). Furthermore, this concern is not isolated to the UK. There has been a much wider, general increase in Euroscepticism alongside the rise of Eurosceptic politicians, public figures and political parties such as Marine Le Pen (National Rally – France), Geert Wilders (PVV – Netherlands), Heinz-Christian Strache (FPÖ – Austria), and the Alternative für Deutschland (Germany) who have garnered support from across the political spectrum. The rapid transformation of our societies brought about through globalisation seems to be a key trigger, with individuals on both left and right, working class or elite, taking either an anti-globalisation (protectionist) or pro-globalisation (open) stance. On the one hand, the removal of barriers to trade, capital, and mobility have been economically vital and enabled the European Union to become progressively more interconnected, interdependent, and to grow in economic power. On the other hand, it is becoming more and more apparent that despite this increase in overall wealth, it has not been shared equally, with certain segments of society left behind through increasing inequality and rising costs of living. As a result, more and more political battles have been won and lost on platforms that support or oppose one or more of the facets of globalisation. In particular, and especially since the economic crisis of 2008, these public and political debates have increasingly intertwined globalisation and migration as nation states find their labour markets and social security systems under pressure and with fewer options at hand to address inequality within its borders. So perhaps it is of no surprise that immigration and intra-EU mobility are challenging the way we govern. 2 Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior, German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice, UK Home Office (2013), ‘Letter to the Irish presidency’, available at: http://docs.dpaq.de/3604-130415_letter_to_presidency_final_1_2.pdf
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