On 1st July 2013 Croatia will join the European Union.

The ETUC Executive Committee calls on the EU Member States to refrain from applying any kind of temporary measures to block or limit the free movement of Croatian workers within the European Union. The ETUC reaffirms that free movement and fair mobility are among the top priorities set within its political principles and that all four fundamental freedoms of the common market (i.e. movement of goods, services, capital and people) should be given equal importance. The ETUC also considers that the relatively small size of the Croatian labour market should enable its integration without major difficulties and therefore sees no objective reason to postpone free movement of labour for citizens of Croatia.

Consequently, the ETUC Executive Committee calls on the European institutions and the Member States to ensure fair mobility, equal treatment, the prevention of social dumping, and the social integration of Croatian workers, and notably for cross-border workers who would be particularly penalized by temporary measures, which would keep them in a condition of irregular employment.

The ETUC Executive Committee also reaffirms its opposition to the application of the third phase of temporary measures against free movement of workers from Romania and Bulgaria.

In the Member States where temporary measures will be or have already been introduced, they must be replaced as soon as possible by policies aimed at the putting in place of the proper conditions for free movement, fair mobility and equal treatment in the labour market.