Switzerland has decided to tighten restrictions for job-seekers from Bulgaria and its northern neighbor Romania right after the Dutch closed the door on them.

The National Council – the lower chamber of Swiss parliament - has passed a resolution, requesting the government to undertake new measures to restrict immigration. The measures will apply to two EU member states only – Bulgaria and Romania.

Bulgarian and Romanian workers are no longer welcome to the Dutch labor market as well.

Starting July 1 2011, Bulgarians and Romanians as well as foreigners from outside the EU will only be granted a work permit in the Netherlands under "exceptional cases," as the Dutch parliament is expected to back Social Affairs Minister Henk Kamp's proposal to this effect.

"Over one million (Dutch) people aged below 65 are without work and sidelined on social benefit," the Minister pointed out, as cited by Euractive.

The Netherlands is one of the ten EU member states that have kept job restrictions on citizens of the two countries that joined the EU in 2007 along with Belgium, Germany, Ireland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, the UK and Malta.

Bulgarian politicians have repeatedly said they do not expect all countries to lift the restrictions to their labor markets simultaneously, but their aim is to draw the public attention to the issue and pile up pressure on these countries to take this important step as early as possible.

The restrictions can be kept for another two years, until the end of 2013, if the countries present evidence to back up their claims that the Bulgarian and Romanian job-seekers are a burden for their labor markets.

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