Germany Does Not Want Croatian Workers Just Yet

Croats who think that come 1 July 2013, when Croatia formally becomes a member state of the European Union, they can shoot off to Germany to find work, can think again after Germany’s parliament met in Berlin yesterday.

Croats will have to wait at least two years, and possibly longer after Germany’s parliament confirmed the restrictions for Croatian workers.

“In accordance with the legislation of the European Union on the issue of work permits, access to the German labour market during the transitional period of two years will continue to remain restricted for workers from Croatia,” said German government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Wednesday.

It is expected after the transitional period that Germany will enforce the 7-year working restriction on Croatia, as it done in 2004 with Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and in 2007 with Romania and Bulgaria.