Mobile central eastern Europeans in Britain: successful European Union citizens and disadvantaged labour migrants?

Since European Union (EU) enlargement in 2004, over a million mobile central eastern Europeans (CEEs) have found employment in Britain. This unprecedented wave of labour mobility could be interpreted equally as labour migration and as an exercise of the right of freedom of movement extended by EU citizenship. While recognising that the newly acquired freedom of movement has improved the mobility rights of CEEs and showing how CEE workers take advantage of EU citizenship, the analysis reveals the diverging trajectories of spatial and labour market mobilities.