The countries that hesitated to open their labour markets lost the chance to gain experienced employees, who went to Great Britain or Ireland instead, said Martin Kahanec from CELSI.

Germany and Austria were the last two countries in the European Union to open their labour markets to citizens of newer EU countries, including Slovakia, but did so on May 1, when the seven-year transition period expired, the TASR newswire reported.

Experts from the Central European Labour Studies Institute view the move as a positive one.

„The countries that hesitated to open their labour markets lost the chance to gain experienced employees, who went to Great Britain or Ireland instead,“ Martin Kahanec from the Institute told TASR, adding that opening their markets now gives them a second chance to gain experienced migrants.

Read the article: http://spectator.sme.sk/austrian_and_german_labour_markets_are_opened_to_slovaks