ABSTRACT
The past years’ upheavals have bred sentiments that the European welfare states are under threat from immigration. The populist rise in the wake of the euro crisis was reinforced by the heavy 2015 refugee inflow and accentuated by the campaign leading to Brexit where claims to restore national control over immigration featured centrally. Faced with unprecedented migratory movements into Europe from war- and crisis-ridden neighbour regions along with high labour migration within the borderless EU/EEA area – mostly from East and South to North – European citizens and politicians have become painfully aware of the challenges facing their ailing welfare states.
