European panel: Viktorija Spurina

MEET THE PANEL Name: Viktorija Spurina Age: 22 Lives: Riga, Latvia Works: Translator The EU to me in 10 words or less: "I am both realistic and optimistic about Europe" Watch message

Free labour mobility is one of the fundamental freedoms of the European Union.

In a democratic union all its citizens should be equal and no one should experience discrimination.

If the Commission has concluded that Bulgaria and Romania are ready to fulfil all preconditions for becoming fully-fledged members of the EU, citizens from these countries should be allowed to enjoy all the same rights as citizens from other member states.

Restricting the movement of workers once again highlights how the EU says it will do one thing, but actually does another in practice.

This year was declared by the EU as the year of mobility, but there are still restrictions on eight new member states imposed by some of the older member states.

EUROPEAN PANEL Viktorija Spurina Peter Langh Gerry Harris Marcel De Vries Tom O' Sullivan Joachim Korte-Bernard

The examples of UK, Sweden and Ireland, however, who had the most lenient restrictions after the last round of enlargement, have clearly shown that workers from new member states have not harmed the development of these states.

On the contrary they have brought many advantages like filling gaps in the employment market and contributing to economic development.

At the same time, employees from new member states who stayed at home - for example, here in Latvia - have enjoyed the benefits of at least a partially open market, as average salaries have risen to remain competitive.

I believe that for the EU to develop not only democratically, but economically, it is of crucial importance to foster competition, tolerance and equality among its members, which, in this case, means striving towards ensuring equal rights for all citizens.

Return to the top