Die Übergangsregelungen zur Arbeitnehmerfreizügigkeit unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Entscheidung der deutschen Bundesregierung

Abstract

The article deals with the transitional restrictions on the free movement of workers with a special focus on the position adopted by the German government in this respect. The first part of the article describes the possibilities, granted by the Accession Treaty to the Member States, to restrict the free movement of workers. The author finds that the Member States have applied these restrictions and the “2+3+2” formula very differently. He sees a general necessity for such transitional restrictions, which are justified by the different legal and economic systems in the old Member States and the accession countries. The second part of the article specifically deals with the German decision to maintain the restrictions on the free movement of workers until 2009. The author refers to the actual situation in Germany and mentions especially the situation of the labour market and the high unemployment rate. He also refers to the geographical position of Germany which justifies, in his view, the maintenance of the restrictions. The third part describes the different possibilities for EU citizens to enter the German labour market. The author introduces first the general rules and focuses then on the additional rules applying to citizens from the new Member States. In his outlook the author deals with the question to what extent the German government will use its possibilities to restrict the free movement of workers in the future.