(2004/C 78 E/0834)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3167/03

by Roger Helmer (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 October 2003)

Subject:   Working and health care in the accession countries

Would the Commission please tell me whether the UK Government has a reciprocal arrangement in place with the ten accession States so that UK citizens will have the right to work in the new accession States immediately following their membership of the EU, or whether any of the accession States have derogations in place to prevent UK nationals working in their countries?

Would the Commission further tell me whether the new accession States have reciprocal health care agreements in place with the rest of the EU following their accession?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(14 November 2003)

According to the transitional arrangement agreed in the Accession Treaty, all current Member States are allowed to control and regulate the access of workers from the new Member States to their national labour markets under national rules for a maximum of seven years. This transitional arrangement does not apply to Cyprus and Malta. Thus, there will be complete free movement between the present Member States and these two countries and indeed between the other new Member States and Cyprus and Malta. Malta, however, has the right to impose a safeguard measure until 30 April 2011.

The new Member States have the option of applying equivalent restrictions to those Member States, which have restrictions in place against them. Therefore it is only by way of possible application of equivalent restrictions that new Member States can restrict the right of United Kingdom workers to be employed on their territory.

Some Member States have indicated that they intend to fully open their labour markets to workers from all the new Member States. Other present Member States intend to allow more restrictive access, which will differ depending on the new Member State in question.

For more specific information about existing agreements between the United Kingdom and new Member States, the Commission invites the Honourable Member to contact the United Kingdom Government.

Concerning the question whether the new Member States have reciprocal healthcare agreements with the rest of the Union following their accession, the Commission underlines that at Union level health care matters for migrant workers fall within the scope of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of the Council of 14 June 1971 (1) on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community, which aims at protecting the social security rights of these workers and their family members when moving to another Member State. Upon accession this Regulation will replace all social security conventions concluded between the new Member States and present Member States. An exception from this general rule is only foreseen for those provisions of bilateral conventions, which are listed in Annex III of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and therefore continue to apply. However, in order to be listed under this Annex these provisions have to fulfil certain criteria, such as being more favourable for the migrant worker or related to a historic context.

Annex II of the Accession Treaty, which contains all entries of the new Member States to the Annexes of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, does not list any entry under Annex III of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 with regard to a social security convention between one of these countries and the United Kingdom, which should continue to apply.

(1)  OJ L 149, 5.7.1971.