Imminent EU enlargement to the countries of Eastern Europe is arousing fears in many European governments of a possible “invasion” by workers. Indeed, several countries are already preparing restrictive albeit theoretically temporary measures aimed at curbing the entry of citizens from the new member states. In this regard, the Commission has always taken the view that this alarm is unjustified, basing itself especially on the experiences of previous enlargements to “poor” countries such as Greece in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1992. Romano Prodi, President of the EU executive, has pre-announced an appeal he is due to make to the Heads of State and of Government during the next Summit in Brussels in late March, with the aim of “not dramatizing the situation and taking temporary measures to limit the circulation of workers only on the basis of facts, not of unfounded fears”. According to the Commission’s estimates, with the extension to the new member states of full freedom of circulation, the number of immigrants from Eastern Europe into the present Fifteen ought not to exceed 300,000 workers per year and in any case should drastically decrease within a few years.
