Președinția poloneză a Consiliului UE și-a propus ca pe perioada mandatului să se angajeze în acțiuni de creștere economică și în acțiuni menite să ajute la prosperitatea cetățenilor UE. Noul plan economic al UE pentru următorii 10 ani menționează mobilitatea forței de muncă drept o condiție esențială pentru reducerea șomajului. Rata șomajului a crescut îngrijorător în timpul crizei, ajungând de la 6,8% (în mai 2008) la 9,9 (în mai 2011). Libertatea de circulație a persoanelor constituie una dintre libertățile fundamentale garantate de tratate, acest lucru incluzând dreptul cetățenilor UE de a trăi și de a lucra în alt stat membru.

Aș dori să întreb președinția poloneză a Consiliul, care sunt măsurile concrete pe care le are în vedere pentru asigurarea liberei circulații a forței de muncă în cadrul UE, și în special pentru ridicarea barierelor privind lucrătorii români și bulgari?

The present answer, which has been drawn up by the Presidency and is not binding on either the Council or its members as such, was not presented orally at Question Time to the Council during the September I 2011 part-session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Freedom of movement for persons is one of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Treaty and the secondary legislation. This includes the right of EU citizens to live and work in other Member States of the EU. Polish Presidency underlines the necessity of stimulating of the economic growth and development of the internal market of the European Union. In that extend the Polish Presidency pays the attention especially to the actions aim at supporting of the mobility of young people and the implementation of the Single Market Act.

As for the temporary restrictions provided by the Accession Treaties, it is to be recalled that it is up to each EU-25 Member State still applying restrictions for Romanian and Bulgarian workers to assess the impacts to its labour markets and to decide whether to continue or to ease the remaining restrictions before the end of the transitional period in December 2013. Accession Treaties do not give a power to the Council nor to the Presidency to take the initiative in order to spread the access to the labour markets of the Member States for Romanian and Bulgarian workers. However, the Council has invited those Member States that continue to apply restrictions under the transitional arrangements set out in the Accession Treaties to lift restrictions in the third phase if serious disturbances to the labour markets of the Member States concerned, or a threat of thereof, cannot be established.⁽¹⁾

Currently, following Member States have opened their labour markets completely to the workers from the 2007 accession countries: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden. Most of the Member States that have maintained restrictions have simplified their procedures or have reduced restrictions in some sectors/professions. These countries must lift the remaining restrictions by 31 December 2011 unless a country informs the Commission before that date that it will continue to apply them because of serious disturbances in its labour market. In this case, restrictions in the third phase of the transitional arrangements may apply until 31 December 2013 at the latest.⁽²⁾