France Clarifies On Polish Labour
France will open its labour market to fellow European Union member Poland no later than 2009, a senior French diplomat announced.
According to France's Ambassador to Poland Pierre Menat all interested Polish workers will be able to take up employment in France in 2009 at the latest on the same terms as French workers.
Britain, Ireland and Sweden are the only E.U. states from the pre-2004 enlargement total of 15 which opened up their labour markets to workers from Poland immediately after its May 2004 accession to the bloc. Fearing a flood of cheap labour from the east, Germany and France were among the other 12 which adopted a flexible transition period of up to seven years preventing job-seekers from 10 E.U. newcomer states to seek employment without restriction. All restrictions on labour mobility within the bloc must be dropped by 2011.