http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/sep/17/eastern-bloc-countries-will-uphold-citizens-rights-to-live-in-ukApparently Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic are preparing to 'veto' all Brexit deals unless the UK can guarantee its citizens their
rights to live and work in the UK.
Naturally I'm not surprised by their stance, as they seem to be the net beneficiaries of the free movement principle and the EU budget.
However what I find strange is that many people in the EU feel that they have a birthright to live and work in the EU, even after a member nation had left the union.
What happened to obtaining a working visa or satisfying citizenship requirement, like most other countries in the World?
Why do they feel that they are entitled to live wherever they want in the EU?
In my opinion this sense of entitlement is partly what corrupts the EU. Its citizens and politicians have no sense of duty to contribute and act in the interest of their nation. When the economy is bad, they can simply migrate to richer EU states to either get a job or claim benefits. Just look at countries like Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal. There is a lack of motivation for politicians to act in their country's interest as most of them considers the EU as their final career destination, and many had already landed a safe job in the EU. Many of their citizens now moving to richer EU states for better prospects. While their motives are understandable, this exodus of workforce and brain drain will only exacerbate their country's economy. Countries like Greece and Spain are now economic wasteland because of this lack of discipline from both ends.
I also do not understand why freedom of movement is a compulsory element for free trade or the single market. Free trade itself is a mutually beneficial agreement where both sides benefits equally. The fact that the EU wants to add free movement to the negotiation table makes it clear that fairness is not what the EU is aiming for.
For reasons I mentioned above, in my opinion the UK
must not accept or compromise on free movement, even if it means trading with tariffs under WTO.
Just as the V4 group is perfectly entitled to their stance, we must also be ready to defend our stance on this important issue.