Millions of Europeans are still suffering
‘The European Commission’s State of the Union speech two weeks ago had a missing chapter – Free Movement got very little attention. Our President, Pierre-Yves Le Borgn’, has a proposal:
“Europeans Throughout the World followed with attention the State of the Union speech delivered by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on September 16. Interesting proposals were made in the context of the ongoing health crisis. Yet, one element was missing: the cause of millions of European citizens living and working abroad. This is the missing chapter of the State of the Union speech.
Mobile citizens are just over 20 million across the European Union, i.e. the size of a mid-size Member State. They are the ones who suffered in their daily lives in the spring from the multiplication of national initiatives resulting in the closing of national borders. The same movement, unfortunately, repeats itself in these early fall days. These are not theoretical questions but stories of millions of lives – lives of children, working families and elderly people separated from their beloved ones by the return of national borders.
We at ETTW believe that it is critical for the European Commission to embrace the cause of mobile EU citizens and defend them actively. It is a fight for the integrity of the Schengen area and for mobility in Europe. This dimension, missing in the State of the Union speech, should remain a priority for EU action.”