This or similar has been the policy in many EU countries, about time we were allowed to fall in line.
Are the rules different in some EU countries than others?
If so, no wonder Brexit happened.
Every country had its own qualifying rules and benefits, there are also individual agreements between different countries within the EU.
There are continual negotiations to unify tax and benefits but this is just another step into becoming the United States of Germany.
Making the EU one big Republic doesn't help, look at the countries that are bigger than the UK - in order.
China
India
USA
Indonesia
Pakistan
Brasil
Nigeria
Bangladesh
Russia
Mexico
Japan
Ethiopia
Philippines
Egypt
Vietnam
DRC
Turkey
Iran
Germany
Thailand
How many of them are aspirational/inspirational examples of how size helps?