Flood protection

The recent enlargement of the EU did not result in the flooding of old members' markets with cheap labor from post-communist countries.

"Mobility of labor is a good thing and I'm struck by the fact that this enlargement is being treated with so much apprehension. After all, in terms of population it is comparable to the enlargement by Greece, Portugal and Spain," said Michael Deppler, president of the European Department in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "What we are witnessing is a tempest in a teapot. Countries would be much better off removing the remaining restrictions altogether." Deppler was speaking after a symposium that focused on labor and capital flow in Europe following enlargement.

According to Susan Schadler of the IMF, the flow of people after enlargement is very small, the only exceptions being Britain and Ireland. "During the symposium, a UK Treasury representative said that the number of migrants from new member states that took up a job in the UK amounts to 120,000 and that they actually relieve shortages that would have otherwise occured," she said.

These migrations relieved bottlenecks both on the unskilled and highly-skilled end of the market, and enhanced the recuritment process as a whole, she added. Schadler claims that if workers are not allowed to go west, then more capital will chase the labor to the east, meaning western countries could miss out on foriegn investment. She says western countries should therefore welcome workers from new member states, rather than create new obstacles.

IMF representatives also underlined that large migration flows also exist between the EU and the rest of the world.