Belgium revoked the residency rights of 600 EU nationals last year, in what have been described as de facto "expulsion orders".
The figure represented a steep drop from previous years, which peaked at over 2,700 in 2013.
The orders applied to people who had lived more than three months, but less than five years, in Belgium and were considered a state-burden for not having enough or any income to sustain themselves.
With no right of residency, people cannot access social ser...
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Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.