Homogeneity, the Free Movement of Persons and Integration Without Membership: Mission Impossible?

Abstract:

This article provides a detailed legal comparison of the free movement and residence rights, including mutual recognition of qualifications and social security coordination, accorded to nationals of the four EFTA States: Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The first half considers the extent to which the EEA Agreement, which relates to the former three countries, secures homogeneity in this area of law; and the second half of the article looks at the EU-Swiss framework for the same purposes. It concludes that the EEA framework, through the activism of its Court, goes a long way to securing homogeneity - to the extent of equating nationality of an EEA-EFTA state with Union citizenship, at least for the purposes of movement and residence. The Swiss model, however, still mirrors free movement law prior to Directive 2004/38 and even though part of the same internal market as the EEA, the Swiss framework does very little for the market’s homogeneity.