S3 E2 Free Movement, limited

Who do we think we are?

We’re talking Freedom of Movement, its role in the formation of an EU–wide imagined community, and the experiences of people who have lost their FOM rights due to Brexit. Catherine Craven explains what we mean when we talk about Freedom of Movement within the EU, its institutional underpinnings and social implications. Elspeth Guild, legal scholar and counsel, joins us to talk about the history and evolution of Free Movement rights within the EU, what Freedom of Movement does for Europeans and the meaning of EU citizenship, as well as the significance of the external EU border and the politicisation of asylum in the story of EU Free Movement. Nando and Michaela reflect on changes to who moves within Europe, how mobility within the EU relates to feelings of identity and belonging, as well as the inequalities that exist amongst EU citizens when they exercise Free Movement rights, and the impact of Brexit on those people who have lost their rights to FOM since Brexit.

You can access the full transcripts for each episode over on our website Who do we think we are?

In this episode we cover …

1 Freedom of Movement

2 EU citizenship, identity and belonging

3 What Brexit and the loss of FOM has meant for British citizens in the EU and EU citizens in the UK

Active listening questions

• How would you describe Freedom of Movement?
• What factors might shape people’s experience of moving within the EU? And relatedly, what challenges or opportunities might people face when they move within the EU?
• What role does migration play in creating and maintaining a ‘community of Europeans’?
• In what ways has Brexit changed how you - your family & friends - can move to or within the EU?

Find more about …

How migration and asylum relate to the “European way of life” from Elspeth’s article in the European Law Journal

How British People of Colour experience Brexit in Michaela Benson and Chantelle Lewis’ article in Ethnic and Racial Studies.

What Brexit means for British citizens in the EU-27 in this short animation

What place has got to do with identifying as European in this piece on Brexit, emotions and belonging by Nando Sigona and Marie Godin

And why is London the (best) place to be for Roma? Watch this short video

MIGZEN research on European belongings and political participation beyond Brexit.

Our podcast picks ...

Brexit Brits Abroad: Social mobility, free movement and the impermanance of citizenship rights

Borders & Belonging – How has Brexit changed the UK for Migrants?

Free Movement on EU Settled Status

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