Tri-City Project on Special Non-Contributory Benefits for EU Migrants
Pictured at the second round-table of the Tri-City project in Dublin (L-R): Saoirse Brady (FLAC), Lize Glass (Netherlands), Sarah St Vincent, Elena Consiglio, Adam Weiss & Esther Lieu (Aire Centre)FLAC has partnered with the AIRE Centre in London, and Lize Glass, legal consultant and former AIRE intern, in Amsterdam, in an EU Commission-funded Tri-City project on EU migrants' access to special non-contributory benefits. The overall aim of this project is to improve the information that EU migrants in Amsterdam, Dublin and London have about their right to access special non-contributory benefits.
According to EU law, EC Regulation 883/04/EC which coordinates the social security systems of Member States, these benefits include Jobseekers' allowance, State pension (non-contributory), Widow/er's (non-contributory) pension, Disability allowance, Mobility allowance and Blind Pension.
The project began with a round-table discussion in London, which was organised by the AIRE Centre and took place in London on 19 January 2012. Leading practitioners and NGOs in the area discussed topics such as the application of the right-to-reside test in the UK, administrative delays as well as highlighting the problems faced by certain vulnerable groups such as victims of trafficking and domestic violence, homeless EEA nationals, and pregnant women.
On 1 March 2012 the second round-table took place in Dublin organised by FLAC and the AIRE Centre. More than 30 participants attended including legal practitioners, NGO advocates and academics with a wide range of expertise in social welfare law issues.
The third roundtable for the project took place in the Netherlands in May 2012. A representative attended from the EU Commission which is funding the project and it was attended by academics and advocates from migrant and also disability organisations.
Campaign Resources
General project resources:
- Project objectives and activities
- Project monitoring checklist
- EU Migrants - Facts & Figures
- Summary of Proposal COM(2010)794
- Person or Number - NASC Report on issues faced by immigrants accessing social protection (February 2012)
Materials from Roundtable 1 held in London:
- Presentation by FLAC
- Special Non-contributory Benefits: Delays and Remedies (CPAG)
- Patmalniece and the Right to Reside Test
- Victims of Domestic Violence and Special Non-contributory Benefits
- Victims of Trafficking & Pregnant Women
Materials from Roundtable 2 held in Dublin:
- FLAC: Payments and Challenges in the Irish Welfare System
- NASC: Migrants' Barriers to Social Welfare
- ESRI: Immigrants' Welfare Receipt across the EU
- ESRI: Study on Active Inclusion of Migrants
- AIRE: Domestic Violence and Pregnancy
- AIRE: Right to Reside Test
- AIRE: Project Summary