The European Commission will announce by Friday which EU member states want to preserve the labor market restrictions for Bulgarian and Romanian workers, the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency has informed.
The UK, Ireland, France, Malta, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium have already confirmed that they will keep their labor markets closed for Bulgarians and Romanians closed for two more years – until January 1 2014.
Germany partially opened its labor market, while Italy became the first country that lifted its restrictions for the two EU newcomers at the end of 2011.
Austria's stance is yet to be announced.
Each country has to point out its own arguments when it makes the formal request to prolong the temporary ban on Bulgarian and Romanian workers, a European Commission spokesperson has told the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency.
Two weeks ago, the European Parliament renewed its calls for an open door labor market in the older member states that still impose restrictions for job-seekers from Bulgaria and its northern neighbor Romania.