Spain to make u-turn on labour market access for Romanians

With an unemployment rate of 21 percent and the construction boom over, spare work for Romanians - who head to the Iberian country because of the similarity between the Romanian and Spanish languages - is thin on the ground.

"There is a 38 percent unemployment among the Romanians who are in Spain and it seems reasonable that first Spain absorbs those who are here," Terron said.

The measure, which has been already notified to the Romanian authorities, is also meant to have a "pedagogical impact" by discouraging other Romanians from coming.

But the decision is a blow for Romanian diplomacy, with officials currently trying to woo allies for its already delayed entry to the border-free Schengen area.

"This is an unprecedented case, difficult to justify, as it is the first country to re-introduce restrictions on its labour market after having lifted them," Romanian labour minister Sebastian Lazaroiu told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday after meeting the social affairs commissioner.

The Romanian official was also concerned the move may trigger copycat measures at a time when "the Netherlands, for instance, is trying to put new restrictions in place for Romanians."

"Nobody disputes the fact that Spain is in a difficult situation, but one has to see if a certain measure triggers the desired effects in an extreme situation as the one Spain is invoking now," the minister said.

According to the Romanian official, the EU commission has not yet been notified but the measure will eventually be analysed by the commission's services. Spain is legally entitled to re-introduce restrictions - as both Romania and Bulgaria - who joined in 2007 - can have their workers blocked from other member states' labour markets until 2014.

Spain, however, was the first western European country to lift these restrictions, in 2009.

Human rights groups have slammed the policy u-turn as "lamentable", saying it will do little to alleviate the unemployment issue.

This kind of decision "points to foreigners as a blame for the crisis," Andalucia Welcomes, Anaquerando and Human rights association of Andalucia said in a joint press release.

"It is contradictory for Spain to criticise the restoration of the Union's internal borders by Denmark or Italy and at the same time, indirectly, limit the right to freedom of movement of persons," they said.