Italy opens its labour market to workers from new Member States

Italy announced the lifting of restrictions on freedom of movement of workers. The new Italian government has thus cancelled, on July 21, the Berlusconi government's decision to partially open boundaries and to establish a quotas system. (Ref. 06768)
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The new Italian government decided to put an end to the restrictions on workers’ freedom of movement, a possibility which was provided by the Treaty of Accession. Thus, Italy is the eighth country of EU 15 to raise these restrictions completely. By this decision, Italy puts an end to the policy of quotas for Community citizens, begun in 1998. This policy was very criticized, it was accused of being insufficient for sectors suffering from labour shortages and blamed for an increase in illegal wo

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