Comparative Study on the Application of Directive 2004/38/EC of 29 April 2004 on the Right of Citizens of the Union and their Family Members to Move and Reside Freely within the Territory of the Member States

This study provides a comparative analysis of the national transposing acts and of the current state of application at administrative level of the Directive 2004/38/EC. Firstly, it summarises the Directives historical background and the context of its adoption. Secondly, the study reports general findings on the national transposing measures, highlighting cases of late transpositions and the way transposition was achieved by the Member States. Thirdly, the study contains detailed country reports for ten Member States, which have been selected in accordance with several criteria such as their important migratory patterns and their problems in the implementation of the Directive. Furthermore, it presents in detail the non-conformity issues identified in the ten selected Member States against the broader picture emerging generally across the EU-27, focusing on the following areas: entry and residence rights, definition of sufficient resources, situation of registered partners and third country national family members, equal treatment, grounds for expulsion and other more scattered problems grouped under the heading miscellaneous. In its last chapters, the study provides an evaluation of the administrative services that underpin the application of the Directive in the ten selected Member States and analyses the role of the European Commission with regard to the application of the Directive. At last, it draws some conclusions on the shortages in the implementation's process and makes a number of proposals to strengthen the Commissions role in order to ensure a more effective application of the Directive.