The EUR-Lex summary of the directive
"Have the right to be treated on an equal footing with nationals of the host country. However, host authorities are not obliged to grant benefits to EU citizens not working for payment during the first 3 months of their stay. "
In other words you may only compel people to apply for residence type documents if the host country makes everyone register.
Also from there:
- "EU citizens, or family members, may be expelled if they behave in a way that seriously threatens one of society’s fundamental interests."
- "Live in another EU country for longer than 3 months subject to certain conditions, depending on their status in the host country. Those who are employed or self-employed do not need to meet any other conditions. Students and other people not working for payment, such as those in retirement, must have sufficient resources for themselves and their family, so as not to be a burden on the host country’s social assistance system, and comprehensive sickness insurance cover."
- "Have to register with the relevant authorities if living in the country longer than 3 months. Their family members, if not EU nationals, require a residence card valid for 5 years."
So clearly, what you quote isn't the whole of it, and more relates to how that person is treated as part of the country, aka they can't be refused a job because of their status, outside of the initial 3 months you can't pay them less in benefits etc (granted I am not a lawyer - though I may talk to my friend I mentioned earlier about it to get the opinion of someone qualified and very knowledgeable in EU law).
Do you know of any EU country that registers immigrants but does not register local citizens?
Don't have the time to look that up, but certainly there are countries that require registration but don't have a all encompassing ID card / database system as you suggest would be required.
Outside of a few very tightly controlled circumstances, discrimination between local citizens and EU citizens is illegal, this is reiterated repeatedly through the acquis.
Indeed, but you conveniently ignore the parts where it is allowed, that do allow countries to register EU immigrants and deport them if they do not fulfill the various requirements laid out.
I'd rather not have the police resort to rounding up people that look like wrong 'uns and dragging them off to sweat them until they break and confess that they are foreigners.
I have no personal problem with immigration from the EU.
Well that is what is happening right now so.
But I agree, I don't want that either, and that isn't what we are talking about.
What we are talking about is registering EU immigrants on arrival into the UK (again, as is allowed) and then if we were to want a hard line immigration policy, then we are in the position of being able to actually implement the restrictions the EU let us. Because we'd then actually know people's status, you wouldn't have to "round up people that look like wrong uns" because the data is already at hand. If anything, what you describe is what the UK government would have to do right now exactly because we have failed to implement what we are allowed to.