Not widely publicised, if at all, a new ministerial order by the Spanish government on July 9th apparently states that any EU citizen living in Spain for more than three months must prove they will not become a financial burden on the State by producing a job contract or documented evidence they have enough money in the bank to support themselves.
If they are jobless, they must also show they are covered by private health insurance. This is similar to the situation before Spain joined the EU when potential immigrants had to provide proof of income or funds and be in possession of private medical insurance.
Spain hopes to save more than €1 billion a year through stricter controls on economic migrants from other EU countries. The Spanish government justifies the measures under Article 7 of the 2004 EU directive on free movement, which gives EU member states the power to define it ‘without prejudice to national border controls’