Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-13-Speech-1-177"
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"en.20060313.22.1-177"2
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".
Mr President, the situation we have had to cope with since 1 January of this year is a paradoxical one. On the one hand, the countries of the so-called old Fifteen are bound to ensure that long-term residents receive the same treatment as their own nationals as regards access to the labour market. On the other, many of these same countries are taking advantage of the provisions of the Treaty on Accession and maintaining the ban on free movement of workers where the new Ten are concerned. This state of affairs is contrary to the provisions of the aforementioned Treaty on Accession, pursuant to which European Union citizens have priority over third country nationals regarding access to the labour market. The problem could have been resolved by doing away with the transitional periods for the employment of citizens of the new Member States in the labour markets of the old Union. Unfortunately, only three Member States, namely Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom opened up their labour markets from 1 May 2004. Two other Member States, Spain and Portugal, have stated that they will do so from 1 May of this year. Sadly, in most of the other Member States fear of the anticipated influx of cheap foreign labour and consequent loss of jobs has won the day. Mrs Schroedter mentioned this in the case of Germany. Such fear is entirely groundless. The European Commission’s statistics show that in most countries the number of citizens of the new Member States employed has remained fairly stable before and after enlargement. With the exception of Austria, the figure for workers from the 10 new Member States employed has not exceeded 1% of the economically active population. In no Member State of the Union has it been the case that the influx of workers from the new Member States has ousted local workers from their jobs. The new arrivals have been taking completely new jobs or previously unfilled positions.
Mr President, we need to realise that the US economy will continue to outstrip ours in terms of competitiveness unless we increase the mobility of the labour force in Europe. Unemployment in the EU currently stands at over 8% but even so, there is a shortage of workers in certain areas. Meanwhile, not all Europeans can move freely in search of work. Regrettably, it is very likely that the greater part of the Union’s labour market will remain closed to citizens of the new Member States for a further five years. That is why it is essential for the European Commission to take action to eliminate the contradictions in Union legislation and to extend the free movement of workers."@en1
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