More open labour markets ‘will benefit Europe’

THE second anniversary of EU accession yesterday was marked by calls for increased protection for migrant workers as European nations remain divided over whether to open their borders.

Yesterday, only four more countries opened their labour markets to workers from the 10 countries which joined the EU on May 1, 2004. Greece, Portugal, Spain and Finland have joined Ireland, Britain and Sweden in allowing full access to their jobs markets.

France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Austria have decided to maintain restrictions, amid domestic concerns about the economic impact of allowing unrestricted access across borders to relatively cheap labour from Eastern and Central Europe.