Oost-Europese lidstaten verontwaardigd over arbeidsmarkt-beperkingen (en)

Frustration is mounting in future EU states over policies adopted by the current 15 to restrict access to their labour markets.

Ireland is now the only country in the EU that will not impose restrictions on workers from the accession countries, after recent U-turns by the UK, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.

And this is starting to grate with some ministers and experts from eastern Europe, who are seeing one of the main benefits of joining the EU slip away.

"This is neither fair, nor justified", Eduard Kukan, Slovakian foreign minister, told French daily Le Figaro.

"When the negotiations took place in 2001, many EU members insisted that they would not introduce restrictions and that our citizens could work in these countries after 1 May", added Mr Kukan.

"Since then nothing has really changed, so we don't understand why they are discussing these issues now", he concluded.

Earlier this month, Poland's Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz expressed is disappointment about "cases where governments took one position earlier and take another one now"

Similar feelings are beginning to emanate from Budapest and Prague.

A spokesman for the Hungarian foreign ministry described the policies as "a backwards step".

Czech spokesperson Vit Kolar said, "We knew that countries had the right to impose restrictions on our workers but what is most surprising is that countries such as Holland and Sweden, which had promised to keep their labour markets open, have now closed those doors".

But the current member states are only doing what the accession treaties entitle them to do.

According to the document signed by all 25 countries, current member states may restrict the free movement of labour for five years and a further two after that if "serious disturbances" can be proved on the labour market.