Bulgarian, Romanian immigration low after EU change

The immigration of Bulgarians and Romanians is lower than anticipated last year. European regulations changed and they no longer need work permits within the European Union, starting January 1st.. 614 Romanians and 340 Bulgarians registered at Dutch cities, compared to 6,000 Polish in the same time frame.

The SP and PVV predicted a massive flood of Romanians and Bulgarian when the measure would take effect. Migration experts however, predicted the influx would be low. Minister Asscher from Social Affairs warned in August last year that a "code orange" would apply to the Netherlands and tried to convince the EU of the downside of unrestricted traffic. Parliament will discuss labor migration with Asscher, who now says the low numbers don't mean much to him, Thursday.