Brussels, 15/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - Austria's permanent representative to the EU, Gregor Woschnagg, last week presented an information paper to the press on the problem of the free movement of workers (paper that he submitted at the same time to the permanent representatives of the other fourteen member countries of the Council's "enlargement" group), by which the Austrian Government wants to recall and detail its particular situation regarding EU enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe.
Right now, the Fifteen are busy defining their negotiating stance on the chapter of the free movement of persons, a chapter on which negotiating stances should be formally begun on 26 May with Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia and Cyprus. In its recommendations to Member States, the European Commission recommended from the outset not to raise the problem of transitional periods, but to wait for that aspect until a more advanced stage of negotiations.
Austrian Ambassador Woschnagg left no doubt that Austria (like, no doubt, Germany), due to its particular geographical situation (1.256 km of common borders with four of the ten countries candidates of Central Europe), will, in accession negotiations, ask for transitional arrangements for the temporary restrictions of access for the workers of the future member countries to its labour market.. But Mr. Woschnagg considered that it was still premature to say by which mechanism (global transitional period, safeguard clause, sectoral quotas, etc.) this problem could be resolved, nor how long such a restrictive arrangement should remain in place after the accession of the new members. It is a question tat will have to be discussed in the coming months, he said.
The Austrian note analyses in precise and quantified terms aspects such as: a) the difference in Austrian salaries compared with the candidates; b) the considerable potential for cross-border workers due to the geographic proximity of several large Austrian economic centres compared to the borders of Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia; c) the capacity of the Austrian market to absorb new incomers. The aim of the paper is to set out the problem of the free movement of persons from now, so that it may be taken account of in the Fifteen's negotiating stance to be submitted to the candidates on 26 May, and to increase the awareness of the member countries and candidates of the special situation of Austria, Mr. Woschangg explained. The Ambassador said he was confident that the fourteen other Member States would understand and back Vienna's position.