The Czech Republic planned to keep its labour market open for workers from Bulgaria and Romania, once the two countries became EU members, labour and social affairs minister Petr Necas said.

Necas said as quoted by the Czech News Agency (CTK) that the country was going to take some measures to protect its labour market, in case such were necessary.

After 10 countries became EU members in 2004, most other union members decided to impose some limits on worker migration. Only the UK, Ireland and Sweden kept an open door policy, CTK reported.

Now the UK decided to impose some restrictions on the free access of Bulgarian and Romanian workers to the local labour market. A number of business representatives and officials said that East European workers could take away the jobs of UK laborers.

Bulgaria’s Labour and Social Policy Minister Emilia Maslarova visited the UK on November 1 to discuss these restrictions.

The UK could lift the restrictions as soon as 2008, Maslarova said after a meeting with under secretary of state Joan Ryan Bulgaria proposed the setting up of a joint worker migration control committee to monitor the movement of East European workers.

Reports of this committee would let the UK decide whether to open its labour market sooner than planned, Bulgarian National Radio reported.