Austria will lift the restrictions on its labour market for Bulgarian and Romanian job-seekers as of the beginning of next year, according to reports.

Austria's government will provide unfettered access for citizens from the new EU member states, including Bulgaria and Romania, who seek employment in a group of fifty jobs, the Bulgarian news agency reported, citing an announcement of the Romanian Employment Agency.

The group includes construction workers, cooks, painters, etc.

After Bulgaria and Romania's accession to the European Union on 1 January, the map of free movement of labour in the EU got complicated.

In Austria workers from the 10 former communist states have to apply for work permits, at least until 2009. Like Germany, Austria justifies the restrictions by pointing to its problems with unemployment and the fact that it is geographically close to the new members.

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