Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-08-Speech-3-405"
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"en.20100908.18.3-405"2
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"Mr President, under the 2+3+2 rule, Germany and Austria are making full use of the seven-year transitional period before there is complete freedom of movement for workers from the Member States which joined in 2004. In the case of Bulgaria and Romania, Germany is also using the full amount of time permitted during the second phase from 2009 to 2011.
Mr Dalli has said that there are 10 Member States which are still subject to restrictions. There is a valid reason for this, because the Member States have had different experiences. These restrictions are never discriminatory – you have rightly referred to Article 18 in this respect – and have specific time limits. The opportunity to get used to change gradually is an important and fundamental political choice. Our experience is that making free movement available to workers too early exposes the labour market to major risks. This concerns different target groups, such as the long-term unemployed and also low-qualified workers, and in my country, for example, the regions of eastern Germany. We will have to continue regulating access to jobs in the EU, because of the differing experiences in different areas, but this will, of course, lead to changes in the near future. However, we are not yet properly prepared for these changes.
Calling on the Commission to carry out a study on the so-called positive influence of illegal workers from Bulgaria and Romania is totally the wrong approach. When illegal workers are breaking the law, this cannot be played down by statistics, however positive they appear. I remain in favour of strict controls which will allow us to combat illegal working. We owe it to those people who are legally employed.
There is another important task which we must work on together and that is to look in detail at full freedom of movement from 2012 onwards. This involves both opportunities and risks. Only when we differentiate between them and deal with facts and only when we have an informed, detailed discussion can we stop armchair politics from coming into the situation, prevent exclusion and ensure that we are not suddenly working against rather than with each other. This is the position of the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats).
As early as December 2009, I asked the Commission whether there was any usable information available about the effects of full freedom of movement for workers. The answer was that the free movement of workers has a positive impact on the economy and no negative side-effects on the labour market. I am sorry, Mr Dalli, but that is not good enough. You were not in office at the time, but that makes it all the more important for your department to understand people’s fears and to contribute a great deal of knowledge to the discussion which we need to have on change and to giving substance to the arguments in the old and new Member States."@en1
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