Labour curbs anger EU candidates

Labour mobility is a hot-button issue for EU aspirants

BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Union candidate countries have reacted with outrage to news that their citizens might not be able to seek work freely in the EU for seven years after they join.

Negotiators from six aspirants -- Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Slovenia and Malta -- held talks with the EU in Brussels on Friday.

Germany and Austria proposed the lock-out for a transitional period amid concerns that EU enlargement could unleash a flood of cheap labour to their markets that, in turn, triggers social upheaval.

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Labour unions, in particular, have voiced concerns that existing pay and benefit schemes may be eroded if cheaper workers are given instant access to the Western labour force.

Admitting 10 Eastern European nations to the EU could result in westward migration of 3.9 million people over 30 years, the European Commission estimates.

The majority of those migrants -- about 2.5 million -- according to official projections, would end up in Germany, while 470,000 would head for Austria.

Under a compromise agreed earlier this week, the EU is calling for a two-year transitional phase during which existing members would enforce current national laws with respect to outsiders' access to their workforce.

Member states could then either lift the restrictions altogether, opening their markets to the newcomers, or keep them in place for three more years, with an option to extend the labour curbs another two years -- for a potential total of seven years.

While members such as Germany and Austria see the proposals as simple safeguards against economic disarray, some candidates argue that they demonstrate poor faith.

The EU has aimed to take in a first wave of new members - Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia and Malta -- by the start of 2003. But given the delicate political mood in Europe surrounding fast-track entry, many observers believe 2004 is a more likely date.

"I wonder if the union understands the concerns of the citizens of the candidate countries," Czech chief negotiator Pavel Telicka told reporters in Brussels on Friday, in remarks carried by Reuters. "This could have a serious impact on public opinion." Hungary's chief negotiator, Endre Juhasz, echoed these sentiments in similar remarks quoted by Reuters: "Politically, it would be difficult to explain to the population that the borders are closed in Austria and Germany, but we are opening our borders. That is not feasible."

Conditional acceptance?

Telicka acknowledged that the proposal being considered by the EU offers greater flexibility than one initially conceived by Germany and Austria that envisioned prolonged waiting periods after new members joined, Reuters reported.

Juhasz, meanwhile, said his country could conditionally accept the EU proposal. He said he would want to see a liberalisation in existing bilateral agreements with Germany and Austria governing access for Hungarian workers to those labour markets.

Both countries objected to a possible amendment to the common EU position that would allow Germany and Austria to impose restrictions on workers from certain labour sectors if either country feels an influx would harm their labour markets.

In Estonia, the debate over EU entry has been a very tough one, according to Raul Malk, the country's ambassador to Britain. Malk said the latest polls showed a narrow majority opposed to entry.

But he also said that Estonians have been aware of the labour-mobility issue for some time. He suggested that most are expecting some speed bumps as the talks enter their final stages.

"We always said we understand that there are worries in some countries, and Estonia was always ready to talk about monitoring the situation," Malk said. "We are very flexible."

The arrival at a common EU position on labour movement in an enlarged union also drew a line under weeks of squabbling over Spanish demands that that country would continue to receive special EU subsidies earmarked for poorer regions, even after the new members join.

Under current EU law, members have the right to live and to work in any other member state.