Free Movement and Educational Rights

Abstract: Freedom of movement is a necessity for the European Union. According to Article 8a EEC, which was inserted by the Single European Act in 1987, the Member States of the European Union have committed themselves to achieve an internal market and thus abolish all obstacles that may impede the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons. The right to free movement of persons is one of these four fundamental freedoms of Community Law and has therefore been interpreted widely by the ECJ. The role of the ECJ has been vital for the evolution and the Court has also influenced later secondary legislation that has been established in the area. The personal scope of this freedom has expanded with the years. From being a right solely for the workers now it has evolved to also include providers and recipients of services, right to establishment, pensioners and students. With the TEU the citizenship of the Union was created. Even though the citizenship has had a more symbolic meaning, an additional right for the individual was established. But there remains a lot until the freedom of movement for persons can be seen as a full freedom in order to make it possible for every national of a Member State to benefit from it. However, the old Article 8a, which has now been replaced by Article 18 EC Treaty, is an explicit substantive legal basis from where the Community may develop the free movement of persons which could become a right that in the future might include all the citizens of the Union. There are many sensitive issues that stand in the way of the objective to attain a full freedom of movement for persons. One of them is education. The Member States are very aware to protect their national education since it is of great importance for the national identity and culture. The matter is even more sensible as the deriving social rights from the right to education can affect the public finances of the Member States. The European Union has only a limited and supplementary role regarding this field. This is obvious in Articles 149 and 150 EC Treaty, which emphasize the competence of the Member States. Although the intergovernmental model has many disadvantages and it seems preferable to use a communitarian framework of legislation. The field of education is of great interest since it demonstrates the evolution of the right to free movement of persons. How it started as a right only connected to the workers, in a time where the aim of the Community was of an economical nature. Until nowadays, where the categories of persons that may undertake education has increased, as well as the thought of line has changed in the European Union as it is developing into a more flexible and social model where the individuals have more rights.