The 2011 Census revealed that 2.7 million residents of England and Wales were born in other European Union (EU) countries. Of these, 1.1 million were born in countries which joined the EU in 2004 or later (see Figure 1). Migration to the UK from central and eastern Europe rose rapidly until 2007, when it peaked. Further enlargement of the EU, and the removal of restrictions on workers from Bulgaria and Romania in 2014, mean that the dynamics of migration may continue to change in the future.
The EU was established (as the European Economic Community) under the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The four ‘freedoms’ that represent its fundamental principles state that goods, services, money and people can move freely across internal borders. This means that members of the EU are able to live and work in other EU member countries.
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