How do welfare intermediaries help EU migrants access social protection? - Alexandra Voivozeanu

Despite the existence of a legal framework that regulates their access to social protection within the European Union, mobile citizens face numerous obstacles in accessing their social rights. Thus, while migration abroad addresses inequalities that migrants face in the country of origin, migrants are in a position of inequality compared to non-migrants when it comes to accessing social protection across borders. Based on interviews with welfare brokers and Romanian migrants in Germany, this text shows that the barriers faced by EU migrants lead to the emergence of various “welfare brokers” – companies, non-governmental organisations, informal intermediaries – who, one one hand, facilitate migrants’ access to cross border social protection and, implicitly, address the inequalities they face on this front. On the other hand, their use of brokerage ...