As the deadline for many old European Union member states to reassess opening their labor markets to citizens of the 10 accession countries rapidly approaches, Czech business advocates have intensified pressure on those countries to lift barriers against the free movement of workers.

Twelve of the 15 old EU members currently prohibit the free movement of workers from the accession countries to their labor markets, as allowed by the accession treaties of the 10 countries. By April 30, these countries will have to decide whether to continue the restrictions or join the United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden in opening their markets.

The countries are compelled to reassess these labor restrictions every three years until 2011, when all barriers will be lifted. The government is stepping up lobbying efforts to have them eliminated now.

Leading Czech politicians emphasize that fears of the "Polish plumber" — the idea that old EU labor markets will be flooded with cheap labor from the 10 accession states if the barriers are eliminated — are unjustified. But no voice is currently louder than that of Jaromír Drábek, president of the Czech Economic Chamber.

In January, Drábek called for a "tooth for tooth" foreign labor policy. He has proposed placing the same restrictions on workers and businesses from old EU member states that those countries have leveled on their Czech counterparts.

"The government should impose counter-restrictions against the countries that continue to protect their labor markets," Drábek said.

Although the Czech Republic's accession treaty allows old EU member states to protect their labor markets until 2011, Drábek said the countries have no reason to fear an influx of workers from this and other countries from the region.

"Today, there are more Germans working here than Czechs working in Germany," he said.

The restrictions on Czech workers are not only discriminatory, he said; they also make it more difficult for Czech companies to do business in other EU countries.

Czech invasion unlikely

While many in the government support the argument behind Drábek's proposal, not everyone is as hawkish. Labor and Social Affairs Minister Zdeněk Škromach recently said the government will not place counter-restrictions against the countries that refuse to open their labor markets.

"While we understand the concern, we cannot start pushing companies from Germany and other countries out of this country or impose additional bureaucratic measures on them," he said.

Škromach has said, however, that the government is prepared to fight for a unified set of conditions for the free movement of workers throughout the EU. He said Finland and Spain could soon lift restrictions on Czech workers, while Germany and Austria are likely to keep their markets closed.

Vladimír Špidla, EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities, has said EU member states have a legitimate right to protect their markets until 2011. The former prime minister of the Czech Republic added, however, that as many as four countries are likely to open their markets this spring.

On Feb. 8, Špidla will present to the European Commission (EC) an analysis of EU labor markets. In it he will offer several arguments in support of lifting labor restrictions between the old and new EU member states.

Špidla has not revealed specifics about the report, but he has cited the United Kingdom, which has had no restrictions on workers from this region since the 10 countries joined the EU, as an example of why the EU 15 shouldn't fear a dangerous influx of workers from Central and East European countries.

Approximately 230,000 workers from this region went to the United Kingdom after accession. While this figure is higher than was expected, the workers only filled long-term gaps in the market, Špidla said.

Rounding out the government's lobbying efforts, Senate Chairman Přemysl Sobotka has suggested establishing a joint commission of EU senators to re-examine whether the labor markets of old EU member countries are actually threatened by an influx of workers from the accession countries.

Sobotka contends that they are not.