Empirical legal research on intra-EU labour mobility – Labour and social security law perspectives
Cross-border labour mobility is a key pillar of the European single market, promoting economic integration and individual opportunities. It takes various long-term and short-term forms, ranging from permanent movers of working age over frontier workers to seasonal workers, posted workers and highly mobile workers. Each of these types of intra-EU labour mobility present distinct legal and policy challenges.
In recent years, intra-EU labour mobility has once again been at the centre of political debates and legislative revisions. Key legal initiatives include the reform of the Posting of Workers Directive, the proposal to revise the social security coordination regulations, and the Mobility Package affecting the road transport sector. These reforms have been accompanied by EU-level impact assessments, which are central to the Commission’s better regulation policy and rely on empirical data to evaluate the impact of regulatory interventions.
This conference, hosted by HIVA-KU Leuven on 20 April 2026, explores the role of empirical legal research in assessing intra-EU labour mobility and the variety of EU rules regulating cross-border employment. Empirical legal research – whether qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method – offers valuable insights into how legal instruments function in practice, how national authorities and courts interpret, implement and enforce legislation, and how workers and employers experience these legal frameworks.
We invite full paper submissions (max. 8,000 words) that either:
- Apply empirical legal research to aspects of intra-EU labour mobility; or
- Critically assess the methodology, findings, and implications of empirical legal studies on intra-EU labour mobility.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Implementation and/or enforcement of EU rules on intra-EU labour mobility;
- Impact of EU legal reforms on mobile workers’ social rights;
- Effects of the Mobility Package on road freight transport workers and hauliers;
- Consequences of the revised Posting of Workers Directive for economic actors;
- Empirical approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of intra-EU labour mobility policies;
- The relationship between empirical legal research and the European Commission’s better regulation agenda.
We welcome contributions from legal scholars, social scientists, and economists working at the intersection of legal analysis and empirical research. Selected papers will be presented at the conference and published in a peer-reviewed journal or book.
Submission details
- Deadline for full paper submissions: 2 February 2026
- Papers (max. 8,000 words) should be sent to frederic.dewispelaere@kuleuven.be
- Notification of acceptance: March 2026
For further inquiries, please contact:
- Frederic De Wispelaere frederic.dewispelaere@kuleuven.be or
- Anke van der Hoeven A.M.H.vdrHoeven@tilburguniversity.edu