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This contribution examines the legal powers that Dutch authorities have to restrict the right to free movement of mobile but ‘unwanted’ EU citizens, including measures that seek to expel and ban EU citizens from re-entering the Netherlands. The article defines ‘unwanted’ EU citizens as mobile EU citizens in respect of whom national authorities seek to take measures to restrict their right of residence, either on the grounds of their being an unreasonable burden on the Dutch social assistance system or in respect of public policy and public security. We analyse the relevant EU legal rules, their interpretation by the Court of Justice of the EU and their national implementation and application in order to show the legal constraints faced by national authorities when seeking to restrict EU mobility. This legal study is supplemented by a discussion of existing data on the number of EU citizens expelled or removed from the Netherlands. Our analysis suggests that, due to the legal protection enjoyed by mobile EU citizens against measures restricting their residence rights, the Dutch authorities encourage voluntary departure as a pragmatic solution to the presence of ‘unwanted’ EU citizens.

As a research technique, poetic transcription transforms people's stories and enables deeper analysis and engagement between participants, readers and researchers. Chronic illness is often characterised as a 'biographical disruption', which may threaten a patient's self-identity and equanimity. Such disruptions often influence patients' perceptions of imminent life changes, social relationships and cognitive and material resources. Thus, poetic transcription offers a valuable tool for making sense of complex illnesses and lived experiences. This paper demonstrates how raw interview data can be reconstructed into a poetic format to highlight the nuances of people's lived illness experiences, which may remain elusive to them and others. A qualitative survey was conducted with a small group of patient participants, eliciting chronic illness narratives analysed through poetic transcription. Poetic transcription becomes a rigorous and legitimate qualitative research method through multiple iterations and extensive data engagement. Our main themes are focused on biographical disruption, temporality, humour, voice and ableism., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background : The HPTN 071 (PopART) trial implemented universal test and treat (UTT) in three clinics in the Western Cape, South Africa at a time when antiretroviral treatment (ART) was only offered by CD4 threshold and World Health Organization clinical staging. This required a concomitant shift in the way health workers communicated ART initiation messages. We provide insight into front-line ART initiation communication pre-national policy shift. Method : The design of this study was exploratory with a case descriptive analysis of ART initiation in three clinics. To characterise their demographic profiles, we reviewed 134 randomly selected patient clinical folders of people who initiated ART at CD4 counts greater than the recommended standard. Further, we conducted 12 key informant interviews with health workers at these facilities and thematically analysed health workers' responses. Results : The median age of patients initiating ART regardless of CD4 count (above the threshold level) was 33 years and most were women (73.9%), married (76.1%), and unemployed (48.5%). The median CD4 count of patients initiating outside guidelines was 566.5 cells/µl. Contrary to expectations, key informants indicated no radical shift in messaging to explain ART initiation regardless of CD4 count. Rather, they encouraged people living with HIV (PLHIV) to initiate ART while they still "feel well". The reduced risk of onward HIV transmission did not factor significantly in how health workers motivated clients. Conclusion : Motivating PLHIV to initiate ART regardless of CD4 count in high burden settings is possible. However, there are still opportunities to improve messaging about immediate ART initiation or at high CD4 counts for the prevention of onward transmission.