As Bulgaria and Romania Join the European Union, Member States May Close Doors to Bulgarian and Romanian Workers

E.U. Treaties

As of January 1, 2007 Romania and the Republic of Bulgaria have joined the European Union.

The most important change for citizens of the new Member States will surely be that they can now travel freely within the European Union (no visa required). Free movement of Bulgarian and Romanian workers within the European Union, however, is restricted by Annex VI and VII to the "Protocol concerning the conditions and arrangements for admission of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU" dated June 21, 2005, which governs the membership of the new Member States, along with the "Treaty between the EU Member States and the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania concerning the accession to the EU."

The Annexes provide for a right of the existing Member States to control and limit access to their labor markets for up to five years (with an obligatory review of the measures after two years). Member States may extend this five-year-period for another two years in case of "serious disturbances of its labour market or threat thereof."

This labor market protection scheme, commonly known as the "2+3+2"-model, is essentially the same as that adopted when Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Baltic States joined the European Union in May 2004. Then, as now, the expectation is that workers from the new Member States will work for lower wages than those in existing Member States.

As it did in 2004, Germany has decided to close its labor market to workers from the new Member States—Bulgaria and Romania. Unlike in 2004, however, it has been joined by the United Kingdom (which, in 2004, had opened its doors to Eastern European workers of the new Member States).

Germany amended its immigration laws accordingly on December 7, 2006. As of January 1, 2007, Bulgarian and Romanian citizens no longer need to apply for a residence permit. During the transition period, they still need a work permit in order to take up employment in Germany. Bulgarian and Romanian workers will have a privileged status with regard to work permits as compared to citizens of states outside the European Union. However, a work permit will generally be denied if there are any German, E.U. or other privileged citizens available on the labor market who could do the same job. The employer therefore has to make sure that the Bulgarian or Romanian applicant fills a need in the German labor market and that he/she is not employed on terms that are worse than those of a German employee.

Another benefit is that Bulgarian and Romanian citizens are entitled to an unlimited work permit if they have had access to the German labor market for at least 12 months. This does not apply to employees on temporary assignment to Germany.

Any residence and work permits for Bulgarian and Romanian citizens valid before January 1, 2007 will stay effective under the new provisions.