Citizens of Romania and Bulgaria can work without restrictions across the European Union from Wednesday.
Transitional controls were imposed by some member states on
nationals of the two countries - the poorest in the bloc - when they
joined the EU in 2007.Their rights to work and claim benefits were limited for the first seven years of EU membership.
Some in wealthier western EU nations fear mass migration from the two countries.
Meanwhile, Latvia saw in 2014 by adopting the euro as its currency, the 18th country to do so.
EU commissioner Olli Rehn said joining the eurozone marked "the completion of Latvia's journey back to the political and economic heart of our continent, and that is something for all of us to celebrate".
But some Latvians have expressed scepticism over the move at a time of financial difficulties in Europe, as well sadness at giving up the lat, a potent symbol of the country's independence from the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
UK rules tightened The authorities in Bucharest and Sofia say there will not be an exodus, and that many of those who wanted to leave the country to seek work had already done so.
Romanians and Bulgarians were able to travel to other EU states without a visa after the two countries joined the bloc.
- However nine of the 26 other member states imposed temporary restrictions on the kind of jobs they could take.
- France, the Netherlands, and Belgium required that they obtain work permits.
The UK government is tightening the benefit rules to ensure that migrants cannot claim out-of-work benefits for three months after arriving and will only qualify for support after six months if they have a genuine chance of employment.
- A spokeswoman for the Romanian foreign ministry told the BBC that some of the media coverage in the UK had bordered on racism, and there had been an "outright campaign" against Romanians and Bulgarians.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25565302
1/1/14
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Related:
Switzerland extends labor restrictions for Romanians and Bulgarians
UK Govt Attitude to Bulgarians, Romanians 'Categorically Unacceptable' ...
MEP Urges Strong Response to Campaign against Bulgarians, Romanians...
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Alarm sounded on anti-Roma rhetoric as door opens to more EU workers....
ReplyDeleteCross-party group calls for calm dialogue after Tory council leader blames Roma in London for disruption and crime.
Politicians are inflaming community tensions with anti-Roma rhetoric, an alliance of Tory, Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs has warned as Britain opens its borders to Bulgarian and Romanian workers.
MPs on the all-parliamentary party group on Gypsies, Travellers and Roma sounded the alarm about provocative language as a prominent Tory council leader suggested some Roma are planning to come to the UK to "pickpocket and aggressively beg" following the end of labour market controls on the two eastern European countries.
On Tuesday, ahead of the restrictions expiring at midnight, Philippa Roe, of Westminster city council, blamed Roma in central London for already causing "a massive amount of disruption and low-level crime", including defecating on doorsteps. Speaking on the BBC, she called for more limits on benefits for new arrivals from EU countries and claimed there would be rising costs in council tax unless the government offers financial help.....................http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/31/mps-anti-roma-rhetoric-romania-bulgaria
1/1/14
Roumains et Bulgares sont libres de travailler partout dans l'UE...
ReplyDeleteRoumains et Bulgares peuvent travailler librement dans l'ensemble de l'Union européenne dès mercredi 1er janvier. Sept ans après l'accession de leurs pays à l'UE, la levée des dernières restrictions sur le marché du travail dans neuf pays de l'Union – Allemagne, Autriche, Belgique, Espagne, France, Grande-Bretagne, Luxembourg, Malte, Pays-Bas – n'a toutefois rien d'un « big bang », puisque 17 autres Etats ont déjà franchi le pas depuis des années.
« Cela cause de l'agitation, surtout en Grande-Bretagne et en Allemagne », où une partie de la presse et des hommes politiques brandit la menace d'une « invasion », relevait mardi le quotidien roumain Romania Libera, le seul à consacrer un article à ce sujet à la veille du 1er janvier.
RÉTICENCES EN ALLEMAGNE ET EN GRANDE-BRETAGNE
En Grande-Bretagne, des membres du Parti conservateur ont, jusqu'au dernier moment, pressé le premier ministre, David Cameron, de repousser l'ouverture du marché du travail en estimant que « la vague d'immigrants roumains et bulgares pèsera sur les services publics ». Mais le chef du parti, Grant Shapps, a souligné qu'il n'était pas possible d'y surseoir. Des responsables roumains et bulgares et même un commissaire européen ont dénoncé le ton du débat à Londres.
En Allemagne, le parti conservateur bavarois, allié de la chancelière Angela Merkel, a également tempêté contre la levée des restrictions, l'associant à un risque accru « de fraudes aux prestations sociales ». Mais le porte-parole du gouvernement, Steffen Seibert, a rétorqué que la « libre circulation des personnes est une chance pour les Allemands et l'Allemagne ».
« Faire comme si tous les gens en provenance de Bulgarie et de Roumanie étaient pauvres et ne venaient chez nous que pour percevoir des allocations passe sous silence les nombreuses personnes très qualifiées qui travaillent ici, par exemple comme médecins ou personnel de soins », a insisté de son côté la secrétaire d'Etat chargée des migrations, Aydan Ozoguz.
En Espagne, pays frappé par la crise qui accueille déjà un million de Roumains et de nombreux Bulgares, la fin des restrictions sur le marché du travail n'a pas suscité de controverse importante. « La grande majorité des Roumains est très bien intégrée », a déclaré l'ambassadeur d'Espagne en Roumanie.
« JE PRÉFÈRE ÊTRE DANS MON PAYS »...........http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2014/01/01/roumains-et-bulgares-sont-libres-de-travailler-partout-dans-l-ue_4341811_3214.html#xtor=RSS-3208
1/1/14
European labour market opens for Romanians, Bulgarians....
ReplyDeleteRomanians and Bulgarians have the right to work in any of the European Union's 28 countries from Wednesday but "no major increase" in emigration is expected, the European Commission said.
The lifting of work restrictions has prompted fears of an "invasion" in Britain and Germany.
"There are over three million people from Bulgaria and Romania already living in other Member States and it is unlikely that there will be any major increase following the ending of the final restrictions," European Commissioner for employment Laszlo Andor said in a statement Wednesday.
"In hard times, mobile EU citizens are all too often an easy target", he added.
Britain rushed through a series of measures to ban EU migrants from claiming unemployment handouts from the moment they arrive, while German lawmakers raised concerns about social benefits fraud.
But Bucharest and Sofia slapped down the fears, saying their countrymen are not planning an exodus en masse.
In Sofia, President Rosen Plevneliev asserted in his New Year's Eve speech that Bulgarians "would like to have a worthy job" at home, and "not to buy a one-way ticket and leave Bulgaria".
Bulgarian and Romania joined the European Union in 2007, becoming the bloc's poorest members.
Since then, 17 EU countries including Italy and Sweden have lifted restrictions on their work markets. Analysts believe therefore that Bulgarians and Romanians who are looking to work elsewhere would already have done so, rather than wait until Wednesday, when the nine remaining EU countries -- Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Spain -- lift restrictions.
Nevertheless, the move was watched with trepidation in Britain, where hundreds of thousands migrants have made their home since the EU expanded to eastern Europe in 2004.
The Labour government in power at the time vastly underestimated the number who would come and admitted it should have done more to limit the influx.
Members of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative party pressed up until the last moment for restrictions to be extended but party chairman Grant Shapps said Britain had done all it can "within the law" by already extending the restrictions by two years.
In Germany, the Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party to Merkel's Christian Democrats, also raised concerns about "social benefits fraud" and drew up a list of proposals to make it more difficult for newcomers to receive state help.
But German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert noted that "the free movement of persons is also a chance for the Germans and Germany".............http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/european-labour-market-opens-for-romanians-bulgarians.aspx?pageID=238&nID=60408&NewsCatID=347
1/1/14
Labor Market: Does Germany Benefit from Balkan Immigrants?.....
DeleteA debate over whether Germany profits from Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants has flared up since the EU opened its labor market to these workers. Statisticians are struggling to come up with conclusive evidence on either side of the argument.
There are many stories about immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria, and evidence can often be found to support them, whether they are about how these countries are home to doctors and engineers who are urgently needed in Germany, or about entire village communities with no job prospects who have found their way into the German social welfare system.
The reason they come remains the enormous disparity in wealth between Germany and the residents of these countries, where workers often earn hardly more than €180 ($245) per month. And the situation is unlikely to change soon, which makes the question of how the wave of migration will play out an interesting one.
The people coming from both countries are certainly not a homogenous group. On the one hand, there are university graduates whose departures weaken their home countries. But there are also members of minority groups like the Roma, many of whom have little occupational training, or are even illiterate................http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/german-labor-statistics-for-romanian-bulgarian-immigrants-inconclusive-a-942177.html
7/1/14
La UE suprime las restricciones a la libre circulación de los trabajadores rumanos...
ReplyDelete1.Los nacionales de Rumanía ya no necesitarán un permiso para ser empleados en España
2. La medida europea también afecta a los ciudadanos búlgaros
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La Unión Europea ha levantado este miércoles, 1 de enero de 2014, las restricciones a los movimientos de trabajadores de Bulgaria y Rumanía, una decisión que el comisario europeo de Empleo, Asuntos Sociales e Inclusión, László Andor, confía en que ayude a reducir el desempleo en el bloque comunitario, donde estima que existen dos millones de empleos no cubiertos. En España, los trabajadores necesitaban contar con un permiso de trabajo para emplearse por cuenta ajena.
"Facilitar el libre movimiento (de trabajadores) puede tener un papel a la hora de afrontar el desempleo y contribuir a reducir las disparidades entre los diferentes países de la Unión Europea", ha asegurado Andor, en un comunicado. "Estimamos que hay en la actualidad unos dos millones de vacantes sin cubrir en la UE", ha apostillado.
Desde este miércoles, los trabajadores búlgaros y rumanos pueden ejercer su derecho al trabajo en todos los países de la Unión Europea sin necesidad de contar con un permiso laboral. Los trabajadores de estos dos países ya podían trabajar sin restricciones en 19 países que no les pedían trámites adicionales y han podido viajar y residir en cualquier de los países de la Unión Europea desde que sus naciones se incorporaron al bloque comunitario en 2007.
La Comisión Europea estima que en la actualidad hay unos tres millones de personas de Bulgaria y Rumanía que están viviendo en otros países miembro de la Unión y considera "improbable" que se registre un "incremento destacable" por el fin de las restricciones de movimientos de los trabajadores búlgaros y rumanos.
"El libre movimiento de personas ha sido uno de los puntos clave de la integración de la UE y de su mercado único. Este derecho es uno de los más apreciados por los europeos, con más de catorce millones de personas estudiando, trabajando o retirándose en otro país miembro. De hecho, la libertad de movimientos es el derecho que las personas asocian más estrechamente con la ciudadanía de la UE", ha afirmado el comisario de Empleo................http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2014/01/01/actualidad/1388578294_002609.html
1/1/14
Labor Market Opening to Bulgarians, Romanians Absurd – Far-Right Le Pen ...
ReplyDeleteThe French far-right National Front party called the opening of EU's labor markets to Romanians and Bulgarians "absurd".
"The opening of the labor markets for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens is absurd in times of complete economic crisis and a period of mass unemployment", said the party of Marine Le Pen in a press release published by French Liberation Daily.
"Along with the outdated Posted Workers EU directive, the full opening of labor markets will further reinforce the unfair competition, whose victims were the workers and the small and medium-sized businesses", Le Pen continued.
"In addition, this reform will be interpreted in Romania and Bulgaria as a signal for further immigration to Western Europe and in particular to France", the National Front argued.
The nationalist party claimed that the situation should be changed respectively by the "removal of the Posted Workers Directive and the rapid reintroduction of border control."
"The issue of our membership in the EU should be subject to consultation with the French citizens", the press release of the National Front concludes.
As of 1 January, Romanians and Bulgarians have received the right to work freely across the EU, seven years after joining the bloc. The change has prompted some fears of mass-migration, particularly from Britain and Germany.
http://www.novinite.com/articles/156889/Labor+Market+Opening+to+Bulgarians%2C+Romanians+Absurd+%E2%80%93+Far-Right+Le+Pen#sthash.pSqhKy7P.dpuf
2/1/14
Zuwanderung: Merkels CDU kritisiert "Vorurteile" der CSU....
ReplyDeleteDie Bayrische Regierungspartei fordert striktere Regeln um eine "Armutszuwanderung" zu verhindern, in der CDU qualifiziert man dies nun als "unsinnig" ab und warnt vor einem schlechten Image im Ausland.
Der Streit um die sogenannte "Armutszuwanderung" aus Bulgarien und Rumänien entzweit nun auch die deutschen Unionsparteien: Die bayrische CSU hatte ja in diesem Zusammenhang nach britischem Vorbild strengere Regeln gefordert, was nun zu scharfer Kritik aus der Schwesterpartei CDU führte: „Das alles ist im Ganzen unstimmig und unsinnig“, sagte Vorstandsmitglied Regina Görner der Online-Zeitung „Huffington Post“.
„Die CSU schürt damit das Vorurteil, dass es bereits massiv Einwanderung in die Sozialsysteme gebe. Die hält sich bisher aber in ganz engen Grenzen.“ Görner kritisierte auch die CSU-Devise „Wer betrügt, der fliegt": „So ein Slogan wird natürlich auch im Ausland im Gedächtnis bleiben.“
Der Passus findet sich in der Beschlussvorlage für die Klausur der CSU-Bundestagsabgeordneten in Wildbad Kreuth.
Seehofer wehrt sich gegen Populismus-Vorwurf
Die Christsozialen denken an eine dreimonatige Sperrfrist für Sozialhilfe und ein Wiedereinreiseverbot für ausgewiesene Betrüger. SPD und Opposition warfen der CSU Populismus vor. Mit ihren Forderungen nach Beschränkungen für Menschen aus Bulgarien und Rumänien schade die CSU Deutschland und Europa, hatte der neue Außenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) der "Süddeutschen Zeitung" erst am Donnerstag gesagt. Nun stimmt auch die CDU in diese Kritik ein.
CSU-Chef Horst Seehofer weist freilich die Vorwürfe zurück, Ressentiments gegen Ausländer zu schüren: "Der beste Schutz gegen rechtsradikale Dumpfbacken ist, die Probleme zu lösen, auf denen diese Leute ihr Süppchen kochen", sagte er der "Bild"-Zeitung.
(APA/DPA)
http://diepresse.com/home/politik/aussenpolitik/1512644/Zuwanderung_Merkels-CDU-kritisiert-Vorurteile-der-CSU?from=rss
3/1/14
Bulgarian and Romanian immigration hysteria 'fanned by far-right'....
ReplyDeleteFormer Bulgarian foreign minister says talk of surge of eastern Europeans into UK is politically motivated and highly unlikely.
Bulgaria's former foreign affairs minister has criticised the "mass hysteria" surrounding the immigration debate driven by the "far-right".
Nikolay Mladenov, who was Bulgaria's foreign affairs minister until last spring, said claims of a sudden influx of Bulgarian and Romanian immigrants to Britain in 2014 were "politically motivated".
Mladenov, who is now the UN Special Representative for Iraq, told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme that the media had done well to try to set right such suggestions, which "show that this whole mass hysteria, which has been fanned out by some media outlets in the UK, has been purely politically motivated and that there is no reason to believe that the UK will be swarmed by waves of immigrants from Bulgaria".
He added: "I think it's been entirely driven by the far-right political agenda."
Mladenov said the free movement of citizens had reciprocal benefits for host country and guest resident. "A number of people, yes, have moved and they contribute to the development of your economy, just as much as a number of Britons have found Bulgaria as a base to settle down and they contribute to our economy."
He added: "Most countries have benefited from open borders and from trade and from development in the European Union, so I don't think we should be searing of that – we should actually be encouraging it and make sure that those who are qualified find jobs and contribute."
Fears that hundreds of thousands of eastern Europeans would enter the UK when immigration restrictions were lifted on 1 January have dominated the right-wing press recently, although to date no such surge has occurred.
The quarantine period that prevented Bulgarians and Romanians from targeting working in the UK, as well as people from eight other EU countries, ended on New Year's Day, seven years after the two countries achieved full EU membership.
Laszlo Andor, the EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion, said there were already 3 million Bulgarians and Romanians living in other EU member states. "It is unlikely that there will be any major increase following the ending of the final restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian workers," he said.
Immigration levels on a par with numbers experienced by the UK in 2004, when Poland joined the EU, also seem unlikely.
The UK has put in place a new three-month minimum waiting time before these immigrants are able to claim out-of-work benefits.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/03/romanian-bulglarian-uk-immigration-hysteria-far-right
3/1/14
Rumänen und BulgarenWer kommt da?
ReplyDeleteDie Sorge, dass ab Januar Sozialhilfeempfänger in Scharen anrücken, ist unberechtigt. Verlierer wird es aber geben.
von Tina Hildebrandt
Zigeuner sagt man nicht mehr, man sagt jetzt Sinti und Roma. Die entsprechenden Bilder, Urteile und Klischees jedoch, die bekommt man so schnell nicht weg. Und darum vermischt sich in der aktuellen Debatte um Zuwanderung vieles, was eigentlich nicht zusammengehört. Und manches, was gesagt wird, ist in Wirklichkeit anders gemeint.
Wer zum Beispiel prophezeit, mit der vollen Freizügigkeit für Bulgaren und Rumänen vom 1. Januar an drohe "fortgesetzter Missbrauch der europäischen Freizügigkeit durch Armutseinwanderung", will in Wirklichkeit sagen: Roma wollen wir hier nicht. Das ist der in unsichtbarer Tinte geschriebene Untertitel der Debatte.
Wenn nun die CSU mit dem Slogan "Wer betrügt, fliegt" ins Feld zieht, setzt sie nicht nur Arme und Kriminelle gleich, sie klammert zudem aus, dass nur eine Minderheit der Bulgaren und Rumänen Roma sind. Obendrein verleugnet sie, dass es kein Missbrauch sein kann, wenn EU-Bürger von ihrem Recht Gebrauch machen, Grenzen genehmigungslos zu überqueren und sich niederzulassen, wo sie wollen. Es wird ja mit Beginn dieses Jahres nicht der Illegalität Tür und Tor geöffnet, vielmehr tritt ein Recht in Kraft, das so vereinbart war und das andere Europäer längst haben.................http://www.zeit.de/2014/02/zuwanderung-freizuegigkeit-bulgaren-rumaenen
3/1/14
Zuwanderung aus Südosteuropa: Bundeskabinett setzt Ausschuss ein.....
ReplyDeleteWegen der Zuwanderung aus Südosteuropa will das Bundeskabinett einen Staatssekretärs-Ausschuss einsetzen. Die Frage: Muss es Maßnahmen gegen möglichen Missbrauch von Sozialleistungen geben?
Das Gremium soll klären, ob und wie die Bundesregierung gegen den möglichen Missbrauch von Sozialleistungen durch Bürger aus anderen EU-Staaten vorgehen sollte.
Ausgelöst hatte die Debatte die CSU, die anlässlich der Öffnung des Arbeitsmarktes für Rumänen und Bulgaren vor einer verstärkten "Armutszuwanderung" nach Deutschland warnt. Die Partei will Ausländern den Zugang zum deutschen Sozialsystem erschweren. SPD und Opposition werfen der CSU Populismus vor.
Seit dem 1. Januar gilt für Bulgaren und Rumänen die volle Arbeitnehmerfreizügigkeit in der EU. Das heißt, sie können auch in Deutschland unbeschränkt Arbeit suchen.
Das Kabinett will außerdem über die Verlängerung von zwei Bundeswehreinsätzen entscheiden. In der Türkei sollen weiter deutsche "Patriot"-Raketenabwehrstaffeln zum Schutz des Nato-Partners vor Angriffen aus Syrien stationiert bleiben. Die Anti-Terror-Mission "Active Endeavour" im Mittelmeer soll in eingeschränkter Form fortgesetzt werden.
http://www.n24.de/n24/Nachrichten/Politik/d/4090426/kabinett-setzt-ausschuss-ein.html
8/1/14