More Nations Set to Freely Open Doors to Croatian Workers

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić says that Germany and Scandinavian countries are set to lift employment restrictions on Croatian workers…

Speaking on Croatian television, Pusić has echoed the recent statement of Labour and Pension System Mirando Mrsić, confirming that Croats will soon be able to freely work in the majority of EU Member States which had introduced temporary restrictions on Croatian workers when the country officially joined the EU in 2013.

“Analyses have shown that freedom of movement of Croatian workers has no impact on the economies of those countries, and some countries will not lift the ban for domestic reasons,” said Pusić, adding that Holland, Austria and Slovenia are likely to keep the restrictions in place longer, but Germany are set to drop them.

The maximum period the restrictions can remain in place for is 7 years.

13 EU Member States had introduced temporary restrictions for Croatian workers when Croatia joined the EU in 2013, those nations were; Greece, France, Germany, Holland, Cyprus, Austria, UK, Slovenia, Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, Italy and Malta. Whilst Portugal, Poland, Sweden, Romania, Hungary, Ireland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania did not impose any restrictions.