Friday

29th Mar 2024

France to open labour markets early

  • All EU workers, except for Bulgarians and Romanians, are to be allowed to work freely in France (Photo: Lars Gundersen / Nobel Peace Center)

France is to open its labour markets in the second half of this year to workers from eastern European states that joined the EU in 2004, according to a report in a French daily.

Currently, "new" EU citizens wanting to work in France need a work permit which can be obtained through lengthy administrative procedures, some of which are lighter for a list of 150 job-types including cooks, waiters and computer scientists.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

But during his visit to Poland on Wednesday (28 May), the country's president, Nicolas Sarkozy, will announce France's intention to lift all the remaining restrictions in the second half of 2008 - during the French EU presidency, French financial daily Les Echos reported on Monday.

The move would come almost a year earlier than planned, as in 2006 Paris opted to retain some barriers for workers from Poland, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia until May 2009.

The new offer contains a clause under that, in the event that the French labour market worsen drastically, there is the possibility of re-imposing the restrictions for eastern and central European workers, Les Echos says.

Besides France, only Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Belgium still uphold restrictions against workers from the eastern countries, but talks are currently under way in Belgium to drop the barriers, possibly by July or September this year.

Germany and Austria on the other hand seem the most likely to keep the restrictions until the last legally possible moment in 2011.

In comparison, almost none of the 15 "old" EU member states have fully opened up to workers from Bulgaria and Romania, with Sweden and Finland being among the rare exceptions.

The lifting of the restrictions in France would not concern these two countries – EU members since January 2007 – either.

Several analyses have recently called for all barriers to EU workers within the 27-nation bloc to be lifted, pointing out that the "wave" of eastern Europeans that was feared by many never came.

Additionally, a survey released in April showed that many of those who went to work in the UK in 2004 – among the first "old" EU states to liberalise its labour market – have already returned home.

Ukraine slams grain trade restrictions at EU summit

Restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU could translate into military losses in their bid to stop Russia's war, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned EU leaders during their summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Difficult talks ahead on financing new EU defence spending

With the war in Ukraine showing no signs of ending any time soon, EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday (21 and 22 March) to discuss how to boost the defence capabilities of Ukraine and of the bloc itself.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us