Ten European Union member states still impose labor restrictions for Romanian migrant workers, according to the Romanian Labor Ministry, quoted by Agerpres.  The United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Ireland, Austria, Luxembourg, Holland and Malta make the group of EU countries which restrict the access of both Romanian and Bulgarian workers on their markets. The transition period for workers in Romania and Bulgaria started with the EU accession in 2007 and will end in 2013. Some of these countries however have made exceptions for certain categories of workers.

UK has announced it will keep the restrictions until 2011. Qualified workers need to receive a work permit and present an approval letter from the British employer. Several categories of workers are exempt from this rule- those who have worked in the UK for 12 months in a row, family members of a Romanian citizen who doesn't need to receive a work permit, among others.

Great Britain has established 21,250 jobs for unqualified workers in agriculture for Romanian and Bulgarian workers for 2010.

Belgium has also announced it will keep labor restrictions until 2011, but Romanian workers have a five-day simplified procedure to get the work permit if they fall into several categories of jobs in Belgium: engineers, pharmacists, architects, designers, medical nurses, accountants, managements, construction workers, butchers.

Germany still allows Romania workers to find jobs in the country based on bilateral agreements and on the rules applied to controlled migration.

France has also partially opened its gates for Romanians working in 150 fields which are under-supplied in the country.  Other countries like Ireland, Austria, Luxembourg, Holland and Malta have kept restrictions for Romania migrant workers without making any exceptions.

Romanians can work freely in 16 European Union countries, without getting a work permit: Estonia, Finland, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech republic, Cyprus, Sweden, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Spain, Denmark, Greece, Hungary and Portugal.

editor@romania-insider.com, Agerpres