One of the requirements for countries which want to join the EU is that they must meet the obligations arising from the whole body of laws and regulations of the EU – the ‘acquis communautaire’. In principle, therefore, the new countries must apply all the EU’s laws and regulations from the outset. However, on the basis of an examination of the EU provisions together with the Commission and subsequent negotiations, the new
The transitional arrangements appear as Annexes to the Accession Treaty. All documents (totalling 988 pages) concerning the accession of the new countries to the EU on 1 May 2004 are published in Official Journal No L 236 of 23 September 2003. This source can be consulted in order to see, under each of the ten countries, what transitional arrangements apply This edition of the EU Official Journal can be found on:
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The transitional arrangements regarding freedom of movement for labour are formulated in a special way. It was left to the individual countries to decide whether they wanted to apply the EU rules on freedom of movement for labour immediately or apply transitional arrangements over a period totalling seven years, as laid down in the Accession Treaty. The formula applied is the 2+3+2 arrangement which, however, does not apply to Malta or Cyprus. The arrangement means that the fifteen old EU countries and the new EU countries may maintain the rules which applied at the time of enlargement for two years following accession, instead of applying the EU rules on freedom of movement for labour immediately. After two years, each individual country must inform the Commission whether it wishes to extend the transitional arrangements and apply the national provisions for up to three years longer. If, after these three years, particular countries experience serious disruption on their labour market or expect serious disruption, they may ask the Commission for permission to apply the national provisions for a further two years.
However, the transitional arrangements may not be continued for longer than seven years. There are great differences between the arrangements that individual countries have chosen. The arrangements applicable in the individual countries can be looked up on the website of EURES, the European Portal for job mobility: http://europa.eu.int/eures/ |
Sidst opdateret: 30-07-2008 - ANSJ