EC Report: Free Movement Of Romanian, Bulgarian Workers Increased EU GDP By 0.3%

The report notes that the most significant inflows of workers from Romania and Bulgaria began in 2004 and explains why workers from these states are an investment for their countries of destination.

The report says remittances sent by workers living abroad to Romania and Bulgaria in 2004-2010 made up 3% of the GDP in both countries. In addition, the free movement of these workers has contributed a 0.3% increase to the entire EU's GDP.

Romania's Labor Ministry says, in a press release, that the number of Romanians working in Italy increased fivefold between 2003 and 2010. "Eight years ago, 189,000 Romanians were at work in Italy; today, one million citizens live in this country. According to the report, in Spain, the number of workers grew from 254,000 in 2003 to over a million in 2010. Last year, 206,000 Romanians were working in Germany, 124,000 in the United Kingdom and 20,000 in the Netherlands," says the ministry.

The EC states there is no evidence of a "disproportionate use of benefits by recent intra-EU mobile citizens" in states of destination. The Commission's experts do see a negative effect on the sending states, as the worker outflows affect productive capacity and contribute to an older workforce. "However, remittances can partially offset this negative impact and the brain-drain effect is considered to be limited," says the report.

The document also says that Romanians were, in 2010, the largest group of working-age citizens living in another member state (27%), followed by Poles (21%). Most live in Italy (41%), Spain (38%) and Germany (5%).

The report concludes that "transitional measures have had a limited effect on the distribution of EU mobility and that flows are influenced more by factors like labour demand or language skills."

The Commission expects member states that want to extend restrictions "to provide a full justification with data and convincing arguments on the existence of a labour market disturbance or threat thereof that goes beyond simply citing the unemployment rate."

Under Romania's Treaty of Accession, the EU's older member states may apply transitional measures on the access of citizens of new member states to their labor market, in three stages. These restrictions will expire completely on January 1, 2014.

Currently, Romanian workers enjoy free access to the labor markets of 15 member states. Eleven states enforce complete or partial restrictions to the access of Romanian and Bulgarian workers to employment.

Recently, Iceland, an EEA member state and EU candidate, decided to lift its labor market restrictions for Romanian and Bulgarian workers.

The United Kingdom's Migration Advisory Committee recently recommended maintaining restrictions on the access of Bulgarian and Romanian nationals to employment, as lifting them would have a negative impact on the British labor market.

A resolution adopted by the European Parliament two weeks ago urges all EU member states to allow Romanians and Bulgarians access to the labor market by the end of 2011, ahead of the 2013 deadline.

If you liked this story, please follow MEDIAFAX.RO on FACEBOOK »

The content of mediafax.ro is for your information only. Republishing or using this content is forbidden without express consent of MEDIAFAX. For this consent, please ask for it by mail at vanzari@mediafax.ro.