Incoming states: Romania and Bulgaria denounced Ireland and Britain yesterday for planning to retain work restrictions on their citizens when they join the EU in January, calling them a short-sighted measure that made no economic sense and damaged European unity.
However diplomats played down the threat of countermeasures from the Balkan states, saying Bucharest and Sofia were already braced for such a decision and were focused on making the transition period to full access as short as possible.
"Our government did everything it could to prevent this measure," said Romania's prime minister, Calin Tariceanu, calling it "a bad decision in the long run because it cultivates misgivings about the European Union".
Bulgaria reacted angrily to the announcements from Dublin and London.
"Each member state has the right to impose such restrictions . . . but we think such a decision will put us on an unequal footing with the 10 member states that joined in 2004," said foreign ministry spokesman Dimitar Tsanchev.
"We will discuss the possibility of imposing reciprocal restrictions on Britain, as well as on other EU member states that restrict the free movement of labour."
Analysts and diplomats said Bucharest and Sofia had little choice but to accept the decision of Ireland and Britain, which along with Sweden were the only states to open their labour markets to people from the 10 countries that joined the EU two years ago.
"I don't think the threats are serious," said one EU diplomat based in Sofia. "They realise that the only people they would damage are themselves."
Romania and Bulgaria urged the EU not to treat them as "second-class citizens" and assured Ireland and Britain that they would not be inundated with workers when the Balkan neighbours join the bloc.
"There is a sense of disappointment and grievance," said the diplomat, "not because all Bulgarians want to flock to Britain and Ireland, but because they feel they are being treated less well than the other new member states."
Sweden has said it is unlikely to impose restrictions on workers from Romania and Bulgaria and yesterday a similar pledge was made by Poland, which has seen hundreds of thousands of people leave for Ireland and Britain since 2004.
"We have always been against restrictions on the free flow of capital, services and labour," said Kazimierz Kubierski, Poland's deputy labour minister.