EU seeks labor market restrictions
By : Jeffrey Sparshott
The European Commission (EC) (http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/index_en.htm) next week is scheduled to advance its negotiating stand on the free movement of labor for new members and, while a position is not final, officials are signaling that they will seek a transition period before they allow unrestricted access to labor markets.
Gunter Verheugen, the European Union's (EU) (http://www.europa.eu.int/index_en.htm) enlargement commissioner, said at a news conference that he will propose a seven-year transition period coupled with a review process. "My personal intention is to make a proposal for a review to start after two years," he said in Prague.
"If we wait a few years for the free movement of labor, it's not a tragedy, provided that we are wise in putting a timetable (together)," EC President Romano Prodi said last week.
Germany and Austria, especially, are pushing for a seven-year transition before EU aspirants gain unfettered access to the labor market, though Poland wants an immediate opening.
Seven years after Poland first applied for membership in the EU, both sides are facing two of the most sensitive issues the right for Polish workers to take jobs in today's EU and the right for today's EU citizens and companies to buy Polish land. According to a roadmap laid out by the EU, the two topics are priorities for the first half of this year. Meanwhile, Poland and the EU are staking out positions before sitting down for talks, possibly in May or June, though negotiators do not expect to solve these issues quickly.
"I don't really believe both chapters can be finalized before the final round of negotiations," said Leszek Jesien, an adviser to Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, who is working with the chief negotiator for EU accession. "We work on an assumption that negotiations can be ended this year or in the first month or two months of next year. We are doing a lot of work on the chapters and we are trying to make a qualitative breakthrough, closing as many as possible."
Last month, two chapters were closed, bringing the total to 15 out of the 31 that must be resolved. Among the first wave of candidates, Cyprus, Estonia and Slovenia have closed 18 chapters, Hungary 17 and the Czech Republic 15. Poland has set a goal of finishing nine more chapters before June 30.
"Looking at Poland, the demand of closing 11 chapters it doesn't look as if this is going to happen," said Staffan Bjorck, economic counselor at Sweden's embassy in Warsaw.
Sweden holds the EU's rotating presidency through the end of June and Poland hoped to use that country's enthusiasm for enlargement to advance negotiations. To help move negotiations along, Poland's team indicated that it would scale back its demands on environmental transitions.
But the most emotional issues remain. At some point, compromise will be necessary, although officials do not want to make concessions prematurely.
"There should be room for compromise because these are the negotiations," Jesien said. "It is too early to say what will be the compromise," adding that they "don't see any reason for transition periods in the free movement of labor."
Peter Krois, second secretary at the Austrian Embassy in Warsaw, said both sides have to be prepared to cede ground. "I think it is highly improbable that there will be no specific arrangement at all," he said of the labor regime.
