European Commission to back restrictions on movement of free labor

Diplomatic sources of the European Union (EU) revealed on Monday that the European Commission (EC) will back a German proposal to impose a restriction of up to seven years on free movement of workers form candidate countries following EU enlargement. Above all, Germany and Austria, which share borders with front-runner states, are worried about a large influx of cheap labor from the East. Diplomatic sources from Brussels said the EC would propose to EU governments on April 11 a general transition period of five years, which any member state could prolong by two years if it so wished. EU member states would also be free to review the possibility of removing restrictions earlier. For now, the EC has taken no public stance on the transition time, but has indicated that EU member states have rejected the option of allowing immediate freedom of movement for workers after EU expansion. (Reuters) A.D.