All EU-15 states should consider "rapidly lifting" the transitional periods currently applied to job-seekers from the EU-10 countries, or "at the very least" to those new European citizens who hold a university degree, says a report drafted for the 27 October Hampton Court EU summit.
The main focus of the report is the effects of the legal and illegal forms of immigration on the EU member states' demographic and labour market status. The author, Patrick Weil, cites the experiences of Britain, Ireland and Sweden, which show that "labour flows from the new member states have been both manageable and beneficial". (These three countries have opened their labour markets to the EU-10 citizens; Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal apply quotas; while the remaining 8 "old" EU member states have placed restrictions on labour movement.)
The report, issued by the Paris-based National Center for Scientific Research, argues that the current restrictive practice is "counter-productive" as the new EU citizens "immigrate anyway and work illegally". Lifting the transitional periods and the restrictions would deter illegal immigration from outside the EU, the report says.
The EU-15 states will have to decide by the end of April 2006 on whether to maintain or lift the restrictions.
