Developments in freedom of movement
Unrestricted freedom of movement has applied since 1 May 2011 to the countries Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary (EU-8), which acceded in 2004.
The provisional figures from the Central Register of Foreigners show that many more new individuals arrived from these countries in May 2011 in comparison to the previous months. Whilst roughly 4,500 individuals arrived from the EU-8 countries in April 2011, there were a total of over 10,000 new arrivals in May 2011. This also indicates a marked increase in comparison to May 2010 (roughly 4,300 new arrivals) (cf. table and figure).
| Nationality | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source: Central Register of Foreigners, as of the end of the month in each case, provisional data | ||||||
| Estonia | 28 | 36 | 44 | 36 | 42 | 38 |
| Latvia | 250 | 186 | 281 | 194 | 377 | 292 |
| Lithuania | 188 | 189 | 303 | 254 | 432 | 393 |
| Poland | 2,970 | 2,807 | 4,045 | 2,830 | 6,836 | 4,549 |
| Slovak Republic | 218 | 280 | 445 | 297 | 563 | 481 |
| Slovenia | 60 | 40 | 61 | 35 | 91 | 84 |
| Czech Republic | 177 | 136 | 225 | 239 | 335 | 230 |
| Hungary | 801 | 773 | 1,092 | 663 | 1,559 | 1,275 |
Total EU-8 | 4,692 | 4,447 | 6,496 | 4,548 | 10,235 | 7,342 |
| Bulgaria | 1,286 | 1,255 | 1,657 | 1,377 | 1,712 | 1,456 |
| Romania | 2,205 | 1,932 | 2,776 | 2,276 | 3,302 | 2,601 |
Total EU-8 + EU-2 | 8,183 | 7,634 | 10,929 | 8,201 | 15,249 | 11,399 |
| Nationality | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source: Central Register of Foreigners, as of the end of the month in each case, provisional data | ||||||
| Estonia | 42 | 47 | 73 | 75 | ||
| Latvia | 296 | 349 | 358 | 323 | ||
| Lithuania | 429 | 408 | 354 | 331 | ||
| Poland | 5,394 | 5,479 | 4,090 | 4,629 | ||
| Slovak Republic | 412 | 411 | 392 | 431 | ||
| Slovenia | 75 | 110 | 86 | 136 | ||
| Czech Republic | 305 | 256 | 363 | 409 | ||
| Hungary | 1,360 | 1,408 | 1,339 | 1,471 | ||
Total EU-8 | 8,313 | 8,468 | 7,055 | 7,805 | ||
| Bulgaria | 1,467 | 1,697 | 1,598 | 1,788 | ||
| Romania | 2,887 | 3,006 | 2,688 | 2,869 | ||
Total EU-8 + EU-2 | 12,667 | 13,171 | 11,341 | 12,462 | ||
In comparison to May 2011, by contrast, somewhat fewer immigrants came from the EU-8 and EU-2 countries once more in the following months. One however finds that an increase can still be observed in comparison with the months January-April and that the number of new arrivals in the last two months increased once more, after a relatively pronounced drop in June. The numbers of new arrivals rose once more in October, after they had continued to fall in September.
The increase in the figures for Romania and Bulgaria shows that the rise in the number of arrivals from May 2011 can also be traced to various other factors in addition to freedom of movement. Immigration figures for Romania and Bulgaria have however not increased as markedly as those of the EU-8 countries, leading one to conclude that a considerable influence is exerted by freedom of movement. The coming months will show to what degree the increased immigration will last.
