Duitse deelstaat Saksen vraagt om Tsjechische en Poolse arbeiders, ondanks verbod arbeidsmigratie (en)

EUOBSERVER/ BRUSSELS - The eastern German region of Saxony wants to open its labour market to Polish and Czech engineers and doctors - but cannot do so because of the restrictive measures taken by the German government.

In an interview with the EUobserver, Stanislaw Tillich, the Saxon State Minister in charge of European Affairs, said that his region desperately needs Polish and Czech workers - despite its massive 20% unemployment rate.

"Our automobile, IT and health sectors suffer from a shortage of highly qualified employees, whereas Saxony's own unemployed consist mainly of poorly or non- qualified workers", Mr Tillich said.

But due to measures by the German government in Berlin, which restrict access for workers from new EU states for up to 7 years, the Saxon government in Dresden is unable to recruit highly-skilled labour in Poland and the Czech republic.

These countries border Saxony directly.

Mr Tillich said: "While British head-hunters are searching the Polish and Czech labour markets for personnel, we as a region bordering these states cannot do so because of the transitional period imposed by the federal government".

The Minister went on to say that "the availability of a skilled labour force is a crucial precondition for companies to invest in our region."

"The restrictive measures influence negatively upon the competitiveness of Saxony".

During the last ten years, the region of Saxony has seen many of its own young, educated workers move away, to western Germany or further west - because of higher wages and better opportunities.

This youngsters' exodus has even prompted the average age of the Saxon population to increase to 42 years old - the highest average age in Germany.

Attack on Berlin government

Mr Tillich, who is a member of the conservative CDU, sharply attacked the German government led by the social democrat Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder.

"The federal government should acknowledge the damaging effect of these restrictive measures on Saxony's ability to attract investment".

"But instead of modernizing the German economy, the government interferes in new EU member states' affairs by blaming them for having low company tax rates."

Mr Tillich referred to Berlin's repeated criticism, shared by Paris, of the new EU states for dragging away investment to the East by offering very low levels of corporate tax to companies.

According to Mr Tillich this is none of Berlin's business: "Company taxes are not part of the EU treaty."

Dresden isolated

Mr Tillich hopes that a compulsory EU-wide assessment of the transitional measures for free movement of workers, in May 2006, will make the German government change its mind.

"Hopefully the facts will convince the government in Berlin that the measures were wrong. Obviously there has not been a great "flood" of immigrants to the West after enlargement, as some have feared."

"On the contrary, car makers in the new states are even recruiting workers in Germany."

But, so far, Saxony is the only German state pleading for an end to the closure of the German labour market.

Other CDU-led states support the federal government's position.