Currently, of the 15 so-called 'old' member states of the community, only Germany and Austria (and, to a lesser extent, Belgium and Denmark) artificially restrict access to their labor markets for citizens from Eastern European countries that are EU members. The German government plans to maintain these restrictions in 2009 as well, although Berlin will need a sufficiently compelling reason to justify this step before the European Commission.
At the same time, it is worth noting that in its migration policy, the German government makes exceptions for a number of professions. For example, since 2007, access to the German market has been significantly eased for foreign specialists in mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, and general engineers.
As noted by Deutsche Welle, Germany is currently the second largest labor market for immigrants from new EU countries after the United Kingdom. According to European Commission statistics, about 600,000 citizens from Eastern European countries now live and work in the country. In 2006, around 133,000 people arrived to work in Germany—almost as many as in all other EU countries combined.
During the EU enlargement in 2004 and 2007, 12 Central and Eastern European countries joined, increasing the total number of community members to 27 states. The old EU members then introduced temporary restrictions on their labor markets to avoid a large influx of workers from these countries. These restrictions must be abolished no later than May 2011.