Free access to the common European job market is one of the hottest topics of the discussions preceding Poland's accession to the European Union.

For Poles, struggling with an economic crisis and the threat of unemployment, the chance of finding a legal job in EU countries soon after enlargement was one of the arguments in favor of membership in the 2003 referendum.

Even before Poland's accession, nearly 500,000 Poles took up legal, usually seasonal, work in EU countries on the basis of bilateral agreements. Polish authorities used to claim that after accession, about 100,000 Poles would seek employment abroad each year.

It was already clear that some countries would introduce transition periods to temporarily protect their labor markets from an influx of citizens from the new member states. Nevertheless, Poles optimistically assumed that these periods would be shortened or that they would not have a major influence on their chances of taking up work abroad.

However, a considerable number of EU states intend to maintain the "two-three-two formula," meaning that initially, for two years, the national regulations of a given country will remain in force in bilateral relations. In other words, these countries will retain certain restrictions limiting the influx of workers from new member states.

Besides, "two-three-two" means that the states which have adopted the formula have reserved the right to extend such a legal state first by three and later by two more years. As a result, the transition period, during which restrictions in taking up work in these countries will still be valid for citizens of new EU member states, could last as long as seven years.

According to the Polish authorities, such a model is to be consistently implemented only by two countries-Germany and Austria. "Other countries, such as Great Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, have declared that from May 1, 2004, anyone finding a job in their area will have the right to take it up legally," says Ewa Haczyk, spokeswoman for the Office of the Committee for European Integration (UKIE). "Political declarations concerning the right to take up work have not changed."

However, news in the press from EU countries is less optimistic. The headings of dispatches from the last few days and weeks speak for themselves: "The Dutch parliament wants to limit arrivals of workers from new EU countries;" "Norway intends to limit the influx of workers from new EU states;" "Work in Spain will be possible no earlier than two years after enlargement;" "The German Bundestag is working on a new act to close the labor market." The 15 EU countries are sending clear signals of their fears.

The only two countries consistently stating that their job markets will open as of May 1 are Ireland and Great Britain. In early February, British Home Secretary David Blunkett rejected appeals by opposition members and the press to close the British labor market to citizens of new EU member states. According to Blunkett, opening the labor market to newcomers from the eight postcommunist states, as well as Malta and Cyprus, will benefit the economy of a country suffering from a shortage of unqualified workers in the food and hotel sectors.

The Irish government also insists that introducing restrictions on access to the national labor market would be improper. It gave assurances that citizens of the new EU members could be legally employed in Ireland from May 1.

However, even hopes connected to Britain and Ireland may be unrealistic. The problem concerns not only employment, but also social security. Both Britain and Ireland, not to mention other EU members, emphasize that new legal regulations will be created for citizens of new EU members to limit their rights in comparison with citizens of the 15 EU countries. The issues in question include unemployment pay and other welfare benefits available in the EU.

Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Poland's minister of foreign affairs, said in early February, "We are disappointed to note situations where governments previously declaring complete openness of their labor markets to citizens of new EU states, today express reservations. We need to find out if their attitude is connected with restricting access to labor markets or perhaps rather specific regulations concerning social security. It would be best to regulate the issue by means of bilateral explanations, talks and consultations."

Controversy concerning the openness of labor markets in EU member states and the use of barriers and restrictive legal regulations, will only confirm the Poles' belief that they are not the ones who will benefit from EU enlargement.