A meeting of labour and social affairs ministers from Italy, Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia on Friday yielded an announcement by Italian Labour Minister Roberto Maroni that he is to sign bilateral agreements with Slovenia and Hungary on free flow of labour.
Slovenian Labour Minister Janez Drobnic said that he presented Slovenia's position on tearing down restrictions on employment of workers from new EU members, arguing that Slovenian workers do not present a threat.
According to Drobnic, Italy pointed out this was a sensitive issue, with Roberto Maroni nevertheless announcing he would sign a special agreements with Slovenia and Hungary that would in fact guarantee free flow of labour.
Meanwhile, the ministers attending the meeting of the quadrilateral, a regional initiative bringing together the four countries mentioned, also stressed the need to create appropriate conditions for small and medium-sized businesses.
They were also united in the view that the falling birthrate presented a major challenges for Europe and also that solutions had to be found for the social groups most vulnerable to unemployment.
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