Commissioner Spidla kicks off run-in to free labour movement decisions for next three years

[Henk Elegeert]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/emplweb/news/news_en.cfm?id=74

"
Commissioner Spidla kicks off run-in to free labour movement decisions
for next three years

Brussels 16-09-2005. The process of deciding whether to maintain
restrictions on the free movement of workers in the EU for a further
three years will begin with a meeting in Brussels today.

The High Level Group on the free movement of workers will meet to
discuss statistics and experiences of labour flows across the EU since
enlargement in 2004, particularly in the 'old' EU15 Member States.

The meeting will be attended by representatives from the European
Commission, the EU Member States and the social partners (employer and
trade union representatives). It will help provide input for the
Commission's report on how the restrictions have worked, which is to be
presented to the Council in January.

Under the transitional arrangements, national measures restricting free
movement of labour were imposed by 12 of the former EU15 Member States
(all except Ireland, Sweden and the UK) on the eight new Eastern and
Central European EU Member States in May 2004. Three new Member States
(Hungary, Poland and Slovenia) imposed reciprocal restrictions on labour
flows in the opposite direction. The restrictions, which were set for an
initial two years, are to be reviewed before Member States decide on
whether to apply them for a further three years from May 2006. Today's
meeting begins the exchange of information which will help the Member
States make that decision.

EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities,
Vladimir Spidla, said that the meeting would provide a chance for the
Commission to reiterate its commitment to free movement of labour
throughout the EU. 'Free movement of workers is one of the four freedoms
of the EU and should be enjoyed by all. I urge all Member States to
seriously examine whether transitional periods cannot be dropped,' he said.

Mr Spidla highlighted that many initial statistics from the three EU15
States without restrictions show that labour flows and its effects have
not been dramatic. He pointed to the lower than expected labour flows to
the Sweden, where workers from the new Member States increased the
active work population by just 0.07% between May and December 2004.
Fears of workers from the new Member States proving a drain on the
welfare benefits systems have been allayed - only around 50 such
benefits applications were approved in the UK between May 2004 and June
2005. Those predicting an 'invasion of Polish plumbers' were off also
the mark - the UK has recorded just 95 plumbers from the whole of
Eastern Europe seeking work in the UK since last summer.

One of the difficulties in the process of monitoring labour flows since
enlargement has been obtaining comprehensive statistics from the EU
Member States. The Commission has received late or incomplete
information from several countries. It hopes that providing an
environment where all Member States can discuss their experiences
together will provide everyone with a clearer picture.

The final decisions on whether to lift transitional arrangements will be
taken next year by the Member States following their own analysis. The
next step in the process is the publication of the European Commission's
report on the functioning of the transitional arrangements, which will
be submitted to the Council in January 2006.

For further information, please contact Katharina von Schnurbein: +32
498 98 14 08

Press Release IP/05/1153 :deenfr
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/1153&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

MEMO 05/325 :enfr
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/05/325&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Speech Commissioner Spidla : frpdf
http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/news/2005/sep/vs_160905_fr.pdf
"

?????

Vlgns mij (afgaande op berichten in o.a. de pers) hebben Polen
ongehinderd toegang tot Nederland, hoor.

Dus hoezo:".. whether to maintain restrictions on the free movement of
workers in the EU .. "?

En wat zijn de (eerlijke en gelijke) kansen om dit ASO land te ontvluchten?

Henk Elegeert

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