Berlin maintains restrictions on workers from eastern Europe

Germany is to maintain restrictions on access to the country for workers from eastern European EU member states until 2011.

Germany says it must retain the barriers due to worries that workers willing to work for less than native-born employees would drive up local unemployment. This despite a steady decline in the German unemployment rate down to 7.5 percent last month.

Berlin will nonetheless relax rules for highly-skilled workers, according to an announcement on Wednesday (16 J...