EU : towards a liberalization of labour markets in several member States

Suffering from an important workforce shortage, Germany and Austria could soon raise the restrictions imposed on central and eastern European workers on their labour markets. As for Poland and the Czech Republic, they planned a partial opening of their labour markets to citizens from eastern European countries which do not belong to the EU. (Ref. 070664)
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The workforce shortage could speed up the process of opening labour markets in western European countries, which chose a transition period which can go up to 2011. German authorities are thinking about a future opening of their labour market to citizens from central and eastern European countries belonging to the EU. “If Germany still feels such a workforce shortage, the solution will be to end the transition period before 2009,” Gerard Anders, the German vice-Minister, told the Hannoversche Al

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