The political economy of EU free movement and emigration: Understanding the lack of politicisation of country-of-origin impact

Despite adverse impacts of emigration in several EU member states, especially in Central Eastern Europe, topics like brain drain and depopulation have received comparatively little attention in EU debates on EU on free movement. This paper inquiries into whether this reflects silences by countries with high emigration, or failed attempts to get the topic onto the EU agenda. Drawing on institutional theory, the paper develops an argument for why politicisation of emigration is unlikely. Seen through the lens of the EU framework of governance, addressing large emigration is effectively a matter of cohesion policy. As a consequence, it is difficult to politicise the topic, which is subsumed under broader debates on convergence. In addition, politicisation is disincentivised since countries with high emigration already are net-recipients of EU funds. The paper draws on elite interviews with national and EU policymakers and document analysis, to first trace whether CEE member states have problematised emigration externalities and to what end, finding that though they have raised the issue, it has not amounted to systematic debate or demands for specific actions. Second, it shows how the theoretical argument can help make sense of this.