Unnoticed Effects of EU Accession

Vesela Kovacheva is a researcher at the Centre for Migration Research and Integration Practice at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW).

• Introduction: becoming EU citizens – consequences for Bulgarian migrants in Germany.- Background: history of Bulgarian migration to Germany.- Methodology: a time-location sampling survey among Bulgarians in Hamburg.- Migration patterns: empirical evidence beyond official statistics.- Labour market integration: analysing the impact of restricted freedom of work.- Political integration: exploring the electoral participation of recent EU citizens.- Naturalisation: explaining the exceptional willingness of Bulgarians to naturalise.- Conclusion: the unnoticed effects of EU accession.