France opening labour market to Czechs and other new EU citizens

From July, France will open its labour market to citizens of countries, such as the Czech Republic, which joined the European Union in 2004. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, made the announcement on a visit to the Polish capital Warsaw on Wednesday. France had originally been planning to introduce the change in May 2009. Czechs and other new EU citizens can now work in most ‘old’ states, though Germany and Austria are insisting on keeping their labour markets closed to the newcomers until 2011, which is the maximum period possible under EU agreements.

Author: Ian Willoughby