Belgium: eastern European citizens get simplier work permit rules

Belgium is one of eight Western European nations that has kept labor market barriers against workers from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, despite evidence that their entry to the EU has not led to a major flood of workers from east to west.

Photo: Belgium: eastern European citizens get simplier work permit rules

The government said there were fears that Belgians would be pushed out of jobs in favor of cheaper workers from the eight countries that joined the bloc in 2004 who might be willing to work in menial jobs for minimal wages. Before letting in eastern Europeans, the government said it would set up an electronic registration system for all foreign employees to monitor their working conditions.

The list of professions includes mostly white collar jobs, but also electricians and mechanics, and, paradoxically, Dutch translators and high school teachers of Dutch, one of the three official languages in Belgium. Dutch is not widely spoken in eastern Europe, the AP reports.

Under the EU's membership conditions, the 15 old EU members were free to impose barriers preventing citizens from the new member states from taking jobs there. Normally, residents of the EU can live and work freely in any other member nation.