Independent Choices and Extrinsic Pressure: EU Membership and the Development of Residence-Based Social Security Schemes in Finland

Abstract

The article addresses the impact of the principles of free movement of persons and services of the European Union on Finnish residence-based social security schemes. Three particular schemes are analysed: the minimum old-age pension scheme (national pension), income support and the healthcare system (both municipal health services and the social insurance-based system of reimbursement of the costs of private medical treatment). In regard to each scheme, it is asked: (1) how the legislation has changed during Finland's EU membership, (2) whether the changes reflect broader changes in values, and (3) what the practical consequences of the changes have been, for instance on migration or cross-border mobility? The analysis shows that the eventual impact of EU law on these three residence-based schemes has been relatively insignificant. Perhaps the most significant change has been the transformation of the national pension into a pro-rata scheme. In other respects, many changes in the schemes have been induced by internal political and economic factors rather than by external requirements resulting from EU law. Thus there seems to exist, at least for the present, a balance between Finnish residence-based social security and the principles of free movement in the EU.