Since the “refugee crisis” in 2015 precipitated the rise of the far right in Europe, debates on the impact of migration on welfare states have raged across the continent. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that EU- and non-EU migrants alike still struggle to access welfare benefits in their European countries of residence. This is despite the fact that immigrants are more exposed to vulnerability. In 2019, 45% of non-EU citizens and 26% of citizens of other EU member states were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to 20% of national citizens, according to Eurostat.
As social scientists of the Centre for Ethnic and Migration Studies (CEDEM at the University of Liège, we were curious to see how immigrants’ access to benefits might vary between EU member states. Backed by the European Research Council, our project has spawned a database and three books that identify the conditions that immigrants – Europeans and non-Europeans alike – must meet to access benefits in areas such as healthcare, employment, old-age, family, and social assistance.
