An Invasion That Has Not Happened
“Freedom of movement in the EU” and the “labour market liberalisation” are two different concepts. While Romanians have had the right to travel freely in the EU ever since the country’s accession in 2007, when it comes to employment things were a little more complicated. Both stay permits and work permits were required in order for Romanians to be able to get jobs in a limited number of sectors in many EU member states.
Roxana Vasile, 07.01.2014, 13:33
Starting January the 1st, however, with the full opening of the labour market, those restrictions were lifted. But some European media and politicians still fear that that will trigger an “invasion” in their countries. For the time being, however, their fears have proved ungrounded. For days in a row, for instance, British papers and citizens have made jokes about the only Romanian who “invaded” London on the first day of the year. The European Commission has announced that so far it has not received any distressing signs as to a possible invasion from EU member states—particularly the most apprehensive of them, namely the UK and Germany.
According to Jonathan Todd, spokesman for the EU Commissioner for Social Affairs, many Romanians had already settled in other EU countries before the restrictions were dropped. So chances are that most of the Romanians willing to work abroad have already done so. The EC admits nonetheless that the labour market liberalisation may generate problems at local level in terms of schooling, healthcare and infrastructure, but funds for the settlement of such questions have been earmarked for the 2014-2020 period.
Economic analyst Constantin Rudnitchi says problems may appear, among other things, when the migrants illegally take advantage of social or healthcare assistance. But, he says, the costs are low compared to the benefits for the host countries:
“In the long term, it is evident that labour coming from outside a country and paying social security contributions will help that country and its citizens to benefit from their pensions in 10 or 20 years from now, to strengthen the country’s healthcare system and, obviously, to maintain certain living standards.”
The EC reiterates that the freedom of movement of people and labour is a fundamental principle, and the maximum length of restrictions has been limited to 7 years after accession, namely until January the 1st, 2014.
