The European Parliament has approved the resolution on the free movement of Romanian and Bulgarian workers in the EU, initiated by socialist and popular parties from the European Parliament and welcomed by all major political parties in the European legislature.

EU countries can ask the Commission to extend the ban on Romanian and Bulgarian workers only if there is a serious threat to their work markets.

Members of the European Parliament say that there is no real economic justification for not letting Romanians and Bulgarians work in EU countries because according to a Commission report, "Recent Eurostat data also show that workers from Romania and Bulgaria have had no significant effect on wages and unemployment rates of the host countries.” The findings of the report suggest that Romanian and Bulgarian workers have had a positive , not a negative impact on the economies of countries where they have been allowed to work.

Alex Camburu, alex.camburu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Sxc.hu)