Spanje overweegt open grenzen voor Poolse werknemers (en)

Spain may soon open its borders to workers from eastern European member states, according to news agency AFP.

The agency reports that Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero may make an announcement to his Polish counterpart Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz during a bilateral meeting on Thursday (9 March).

This is not the first time that there have been indications that Madrid is considering lifting barriers to workers from eastern Europe.

Last week Slovakia's deputy prime minister Pal Csaky said that Spain's labour market could be opened to the EU newcomers from 1 May according to the Slovak Spectator.

Spain is one of 12 "old" member states that must soon decide whether they will open their labour markets to member states from eastern Europe that joined in 2004.

Finland, Portugal and Greece are also expected to cancel their temporary labour restrictions, while the UK, Ireland and Sweden were the only member states not to have introduced them in the first place.

Other countries are supposed to decide by the beginning of May on further steps, with most of them likely to keep the barriers, but slightly relaxed.

Germany and Austria, however, are likely to retain their restrictions until the latest possible deadline of 2011.