Brussels, 26/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - On 1 May, Germany and Austria will open up their employment markets to Polish, Czech and Hungarian workers. Due to concerns of a mass influx of immigrants, Germany and Austria were the only countries of the EU to postpone, in 2009, the opening-up of the employment market to the nationals of eight former Communist countries which joined the EU in 2004: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. This final stage of the 2004 wave of enlargement of the EU is likely to go without a hitch, experts say.
From the Polish side, Employment Minister Jolanta Fedak says not to expect "an exodus", a view shared by the Czech and Hungarian authorities. However, the minister went on to voice her fears of a brain drain, as Germany is preparing projects "which may encourage our young people, once they have finished their training, to go and work in Germany". In Germany, the fears are of an entirely different nature: they concern the risk of downward pressure on employment conditions and salaries, Social Democrat MP Josip Juratovic told AFP. But the adoption of a minimum wage in the temporary employment sector, currently going through in Germany, will help to stave off this danger. Austria has also taken precautions with a law against social dumping.
In Germany, Joachim Möller, director of the research Institute IAB, told AFP that the immediate effects on the process of regularising illegal workers, which is already underway, will be very difficult to assess. IAB's estimates for Germany are from 100,000 to 140,000 new arrivals every year in the short term, slightly fewer thereafter. In Joachim Möller's view, the United Kingdom and Ireland were the ones to take advantage of the movement to start with. Admittedly, he added, the crisis in these countries may encourage some people to go to Germany instead, where the economy is in better health. But, the director noted, more and more young people speak English, and fewer speak German. The president of the Bavarian professional federations, Bertram Brossardt, spoke out against the fact that people looking for work have already gone to the countries which were opening their doors to them, and as the economic situation in the new Member States has improved, many of them no longer really see the point of leaving. Bavaria has launched an online recruitment programme for its neighbouring countries to attract specialist engineers and technicians.
In Austria, the employment minister expects between 40,000 and 50,000 workers arriving every year in the short term.
Context. Readers may recall that in June 2009 (EUROPE 9917), Commissioner Vladimir Spidla (Social Affairs, Employment) noted that Germany and Austria had kept in place certain restrictions upon entry to the employment market. For its part, the United Kingdom kept certain registration measures. At the time, the Commissioner reiterated that these measures could be kept in place until 2011 and that the Commission would follow developments in the situation closely.
Under the treaties, a Member State is allowed to restrict access to its employment market if that market is under threat. In 2009, Germany and Austria used the argument of the crisis, referring to the treaties. Commissioner Spidla agreed that this was a realistic argument. And those countries which decided to open up their employment market at a time of crisis made an assessment of the situation on their employment market before reaching a decision. This is what Germany and Austria did, in full respect of the provisions of the treaties, said Vladimir Spidla.
Readers may also recall that in July 2010 (EUROPE 10179), the Commission presented a new communication on the free movement of workers, the objective being to familiarise migrant workers with their rights and encourage them to make use of them. It stressed that every citizen of the EU has the right to live and work in a Member State other than their own without being subjected to discrimination on the basis of nationality, but also observed that legal, administrative and practical obstacles to the exercise of this right subsisted, despite progress made. Additionally, it cited examples of factors which influence trans-national mobility, housing, language, employment of the spouse or partner, mechanisms for returning to the country, historical barriers and experience acquired in the context of mobility, particularly SMEs. (G.B./transl.fl)