Directive 2004/38/EC on the right to move and reside freely
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| Image:Flag of Europe.svg | Directive 2004/38/EC |
|---|---|
| Title: | Directive on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members
to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States |
| Made by: | European Parliament & Council |
| Made under: | |
| Official Journal reference: | |
| Dates | |
| Made: | 2004-04-29 |
| Came into force: | |
| Implementation date: | required by 2006-04-29 |
| Preparative texts | |
| Proposal from the Commission: | |
| Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee: | |
| Opinion of the European Parliament: | |
| Reports: | |
| Other legislation | |
| Replaces: | directives 64/221/EEC, 68/360/EEC, 72/194/EEC, 73/148/EEC, 75/34/EEC, 75/35/EEC, 90/364/EEC, 90/365/EEC and 93/96/EEC |
| Amends: | regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 |
| Amended by: | — |
| Replaced by: | — |
| Status: Current legislation | |
The Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 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 defines the right of free movement for citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the European Union (EU).
This directive is mostly a concentration of existing regulations and directives in one place, although it does also extend the rights of unmarried couples. While some of the formulations are a bit complicated for historic reasons, the basic premise of the directive is very simple: EU citizens has to right of free movement and residence across the European Union, as long as they are not an unduly burden on the country of residence. This right also extends to close family members that are not EU citizens. After five years, the right of residence becomes permanent, which means it does not depend on any precondition any longer. This permanent right of residence can be seen as a precursor to a true European Citizenship.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- [1] press release of the EU
- [2] summary
- [3] original text of the directive
- [4] first corrigendum (which mistakenly calls it 2004/58/EC) - it is unclear what other changes are in this corrigendum
- [5] second corrigendum (which corrects the naming problem of the previous corrigendum and ammends a date for reporting information)
- [6] a collection of pages on EU interpretations of what the Directive means, and how it is being implemented in each member state
