Blair hoopt dat West-Europese landen grenzen openstellen voor werknemers uit Oost-Europese EU-lidstaten (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU member states should "rapidly" lift the temporary work blockades imposed on citizens from central and eastern European countries, argues a report the UK presidency will present to the bloc's leaders at Thursday's (27 October) summit.

This would "contribute to the reduction of the number of illegal workers coming from outside the EU", the paper says.

The discussion paper, referred to by UK leader Tony Blair in his pre-summit speech to MEPs on Wednesday, was written by Patrick Weil, an expert from the Paris-based National Center for Scientific Research.

The document outlines the current legal and illegal immigration picture in the EU, mainly focusing on the potential economic benefits of the controlled inflows of immigrants to the bloc.

It recommends that the "old" member states get rid of obstacles to their labour markets for citizens from eight countries that joined the union in May 2004.

So far so good in open states

The report points out that data collected in three countries - Britain, Ireland and Sweden - that have fully opened up to workers from the east have registered labour flows which proved "both manageable and beneficial".

In Sweden, the new workers increased the active population by only 0.07 percent between May and December 2004.

Most of the old EU countries, in contrast, sealed off their labour markets ahead of enlargement due to worries over high unemployment.

"The countries who continue to close their labour markets find themselves in a counterproductive situation, with new European citizens immigrating anyway and working illegally", argues the study.

It suggests the restrictions "should be removed immediately under certain criteria", such as checks on the impact salary levels.

Graduate migrants deserve special treatment

"At the very least, all restrictions on new European citizens with a university degree should be removed", says the discussion paper.

Old Europe's leaders - to whom the paper is addressed - are supposed to decide by next April if they will prolong the transition periods until 2009, with Austria and Germany almost certain to take such a step.

Apart from boosting mobility within the union, the document recommends the EU should also take steps to attract qualified workers from beyond its borders.

The paper suggests "Foreign graduate students from European universities could receive the benefit of a permanent visa".