The European Commission formally announced Thursday that four more EU members have lifted their labor restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian workers since January 1.

Greece, Hungary, Spaing, and Portugal have decided to open their labor markets for Bulgarians and Romanians bringing the number of EU members without such restrictions to fourteen, more than half of the total of twenty-seven EU member states.

"I welcome the fact that more member states have decided to lift remaining restrictions to their labor markets for Bulgarian and Romanian workers. I continue to encourage Member States who still impose restrictions to lift them as soon as possible: it makes economic sense. The economic downturn is not a reason to keep restrictions. Free labor mobility is self-regulatory and provides a much needed flexibility in both directions: workers go to where there is demand for labor, not to be unemployed in another country," said VladimГ­r Е pidla, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.

The first phase of the transitional arrangements on free movement for Bulgarian and Romanian workers ended on 31 December 2008. Until then, Bulgarian and Romanian workers were free to work in ten Member States while fifteen Member States imposed restrictions on free movement (usually requiring a work permit).

EU-25 countries that wanted to continue to apply restrictions during the second phase of the transitional arrangements had to notify the Commission before 1 January 2009.

Eleven EU-25 Member States have notified the Commission of their decision to continue to apply national law on labour market access after 1 January 2009. These include Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Malta, Austria, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Denmark has announced that it would stop applying restrictions for Bulgarian and Romanian workers from 1 May 2009, when it will also end all restrictions for workers from the EU-8 Member States.

All member states that continue to restrict labor market access by applying national law can end these restrictions at any time during the second phase. In principle, full free movement of workers should apply after the end of the second phase (31 December 2011).

Member states can only maintain restrictions thereafter if there is a serious disturbance (or threat thereof) to the labor market.

All restrictions for workers from Bulgaria and Romania must be lifted by 31 December 2013 at the very latest when full free movement of workers will apply across the EU-27.

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