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INT’L LABOUR DAY: Portugal Opens Doors to East European Workers

Mario de Queiroz

LISBON, Apr 28 2006 (IPS) - Along with Spain and Finland, Portugal will open up its borders on May 1 to workers from the eight central and East European countries that joined the European Union (EU) two years ago.

As of Monday, International Labour day, citizens from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia will be able to freely enter and work in Finland, Portugal and Spain, which decided to lift the barriers imposed in the Apr. 16, 2003 EU Accession Treaty, which has been in effect since May 1, 2004.

Cyprus and Malta also joined the bloc at that time, but were never subject to the mobility restrictions.

At that time, 12 of the 15 EU member states expressed concern over the possible flood of cheap labour, which they said would inevitably drive up unemployment.

The exceptions were Ireland, Sweden and the UK, which granted free access to people from the new EU member states immediately upon enlargement on May 1, 2004.

The rest of the old members decided to continue employment restrictions for nationals from the eight central and East European countries.


Two years of experience in those countries disproved the prophecies of disaster, demonstrating that unemployment did not rise and that employment indicators in Ireland, Sweden and the UK were relatively healthy in comparison to the other 12 pre-enlargement members.

To a large extent, the governments of Finland, Portugal and Spain took into account the experiences of the three countries that threw their borders open immediately, states an article published by the Lisbon-based Diario Económico this week.

Nine countries will keep the barriers in place: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The last possible deadline for lifting them is May 1, 2011.

Portuguese Minister of Social Welfare and Labour, José Vieira da Silva, explained that the government would like to contribute, “in a modest way,” to the process of building Europe, allowing the citizens of these eight countries to make use of “one of their most important rights.”

The official stressed that “there was no negative impact” on the countries that opened up their borders, while unemployment did rise “in several that have not done so.”

The experience since enlargement has shown that “there are no valid reasons for keeping the restrictions in place,” according to Portugal’s Secretary of State for European Affairs Fernando Neves.

At a press conference with a small group of foreign correspondents on Thursday, Neves underlined that the three countries that opened their borders two years ago “benefited much more” than those that did not.

He remarked that “there have never been significant numbers of immigrants from these (eight) countries entering Portugal,” which instead feels “a certain pressure” with regard to immigration from outside of the EU, particularly the former Portuguese colonies of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe.

The deputy minister stressed that “the government’s decision had the full support of the trade unions,” which are sensitive to the fact the free circulation of persons “is perhaps one of the most important essential freedoms of the European integration process.”

Neves condemned the frequent use of the term “new countries” to refer to the ten countries that joined the bloc as part of the most recent enlargement of the EU.

“We always talk about the new member states. This is wrong. There are only member states. We are all members, with the same rights and duties,” he emphasised.

The Portuguese government does not believe that “more people will arrive than is foreseeable and desirable within the framework of the European integration process,” because “unfortunately, the Portuguese economy is growing at a very slow pace, and I do not believe we will attract large numbers of workers from these countries at first.”

Neves concurs with analysts who predict that there will be no threat posed to the country’s labour market, since “there are other more rapidly growing economies, with better employment opportunities” in the EU.

Moreover, the economies of these eastern European countries themselves “have been rapidly adapting to the EU parameters, and have already generated a wealth of development that makes it more likely that their workers will remain in their own territory,” he added.

In Portugal, “there is a great variety from which to choose,” he commented. There are sectors with a lack of qualified professionals, but these vacancies “will not necessarily be filled by people from these countries.” This is especially true in the health care sector, he noted, where it would be difficult for people who do not speak Portuguese, or a closely related language, to work.

“This is why there are especially large numbers of Brazilians and Spaniards working in these sectors, as well as Romanians and Moldavians, who speak Latin-based languages, and can adapt more quickly,” he explained.

Neves also highlighted the fact that “Portugal is a country of emigrants. Portuguese people have been leaving the country for centuries. As a result, there is an openness of spirit, a certain solidarity with people who feel the need to emigrate in search of better living conditions.”

 
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