The German labour market will remain closed to Polish employees for another two years. Austria is to follow the German approach. We look at Polish reactions to these decisions.

Report by Michal Kubicki.

According to the EU accession treaty, the old members of the bloc were allowed to keep the restrictions on work for new member states, including Poland, for five years, that is until May 1 this year. An additional two year period was to be applied only under extraordinary circumstances, and according to the German government this is exactly what Berlin is facing right now.

We hear from Paweł Zalewski, a member of the Foreign Affairs Commission in the Polish Parliament, who thinks that the German move is likely to exert a negative influence on bilateral relations, and from Marcin Sobczyk, Central Europe Chief Editor of Interfax Central Europe in Warsaw, who stresses that the German position is dictated by political considerations.

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