Bulgaria: We're considering restrictions against Britons

Tuesday, 24, Oct 2006 12:00

Bulgaria has reacted angrily to John Reid's decision to restrict the working rights of their citizens when the country joins the EU with Romania in January.

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry announced it would consider enforcing similar measures against British citizens.

"We think...such a decision puts us in an unequal position compared with the ten new EU member states who joined in 2004," spokesman Dimitar Tsanchev said in a statement.

"The possibility of reciprocal measures from the Bulgarian side will be discussed as concerns Britain or any other EU member states who impose restrictions for the free movement of workers."

Bulgarians wanting to move to the UK should be granted equal working rights as other accession states, Bulgaria's minister for EU integration Meglena Kuneva told BBC News 24.

Describing the 2004 policy as "very brave and very right", she said: "It's a little a bit strange why this policy isn't kept [for Bulgaria]."