Spidla: Migration from new EU is key to economic success

Countries which did not impose migration restrictions on the new EU have higher rates of growth and lower unemployment, Vladimir Spidla said on Wednesday.

The Czech European employment commissioner has pointed to the UK, Ireland and Sweden as beacons of EU openness – and as economic role models.

“In the cases of the UK, Ireland and Sweden, the countries without restrictions, we see high economic growth and employment levels and unemployment in decline,” Spidla noted.

The European commission on February 8 published a report into the impact of EU enlargement on ‘old’ Europe’s labour markets and economy.

Despite 2006 being the European ‘year of mobility’ strict limits and restrictions remain throughout Europe on citizens from eight east and central EU countries.

Fears over a massive influx of workers from countries, such as Poland or the Czech Republic, when the EU expanded in May 2004 saw 12 of 15 member states impose restrictions.

But, as Spidla points out, migration from new to old Europe has not proved a zero-sum game of more workers chasing the same amount of jobs.

“We can not consider labour markets as a static concept – a fixed number of jobs,” Spidla argued.

“If new workers are employed productively, migration leads to the creation of new jobs. This has manifested itself in the UK and Ireland.”

In relative terms, the UK with 292,000 new workers, Ireland with 160,000 and Sweden with 80000, did not see unmanageable numbers.

“Those countries that did not impose quotas did not see large numbers and migration was generally positive,” the commissioner said.

“We have not seen a catastrophe in member states… The fears are very often disproportionate and do not reflect reality.”

Even tougher restrictions are set to bite in the case of the EU’s next expansion – to include Romania and Bulgaria – on January 1 2007.

Setting an example to countries such as Germany or Austria, Spidla stresses that newer member states such as Poland and the Czech Republic will not impose restrictions.

“We want free movement for our workers and we will accept it for others as well,” he said.

The commission has reported to national governments who will now review transitional enlargement arrangements two years after enlargement.

EU capitals will have until April 30 to consider three options, to keep or ease restrictions or, the commission’s preferred option, to scrap them altogether.

Restrictions can be kept until 2011 and the issue is expected to be a hot topic at an EU economic summit on March 23.

Spidla will tell Europe’s leaders that his findings are based on a “rigorous and careful analysis of the facts”.

“Free movement of workers is economically rational and is one of the values of the EU treaties,” he said.

He accuses Europe of being two-faced on the migration issue, comparing the EU to the Roman god of gateways who faced both backwards and forwards.

“At moments it seems to be the two-faced god Janus, one face to the past, one to the future,” he said.

“I am glad the future face has better eyesight. The face looking back is short-sighted.”

The perception of migration has outstripped reality, Spidla insists, particularly in countries such as the Netherlands.

EU enlargement and migration was a key swing issue on the Dutch referendum rejection of the European constitution last year.

But as, Spidla notes, only 13,000 fulltime jobs were taken by new EU workers over two years in a five million strong Dutch labour market.

“This is not a wave,” said the Czech commissioner. “Migration was limited and not sufficiently large to influence labour markets.”

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