MEPs: Unfettered Job Rights for Bulgarians, Romanians!

Ten EU member states have kept job restrictions on citizens of the countries that joined the EU in 2007. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The European Parliament has renewed its calls for an open door labor market in the ten older member states that still impose restrictions for job-seekers from Bulgaria and its northern neighbor Romania.

"All European Union member states should lift labour market barriers to Bulgarians and Romanians. Тhere are no real economic justifications for restricting their fundamental right to work and reside across the EU," reads a resolution that the MEPs adopted on Thursday.

The resolution echoes the basic points in a document that the European Parliament passed at the end of October.

Tabled by the EPP, S&D, ALDE and Greens/EFA groups, it calls on all member states to abolish all "transitional measures" so as to allow Bulgarians and Romanians onto their labour markets by the end of 2011.

MEPs say that no negative effects have been reported in those member States that opened their labor markets to workers from the countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007.

On the contrary, a Commission report of 11 November 2011, found that workers from Romania and Bulgaria have had a positive impact on the economies of those Member States that have allowed them in to work.

Nevertheless, a number of Member States have decided to continue applying restrictions to Romanian ad Bulgarian workers, due more to political pressures than to any justified fear of negative effects on their economies or labour markets, says the resolution.

The European Parliament asks the European Commission to propose a clear definition of the "serious disturbances of labour markets" required to justify restrictions.

According to the MEPs member states that maintain restrictions without "a clear and transparent socio-economic justification of a serious labour market disturbance", in line with Court of Justice rulings, are in breach of the treaties.

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg Malta, the Netherlands and UK all still restrict the access of Bulgarian and Romanian workers to their labour markets. Spain is also restricting Romanian workers' access, with the Commission's approval, until 31 December 2012, due to serious disturbances on its labour market.

EU countries may prolong a temporary ban on Bulgarian and Romanian workers for 2 additional years, i.e. until 2014, if they prove that will pose a serious threat to their labour markets.

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