BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — French interim romania franta Emmanuel Macron arrived in Romania on Thursday, the second leg of a trip to Central Europe where he plans to raise concerns over so-called posted workers — cheap labor from Eastern Europe sent to richer European countries for short-term jobs. Macron will meet with President Klaus Iohannis to discuss economic issues, particularly a growing reliance on temporary migrant labor. He will also urge Bucharest to reform the rules governing these workers, which are often subjected to harsher working conditions than locals.

Skill Sets in Demand: Industries Seeking Romanian Workers in France”

Unlike France, which has strict laws protecting the rights of foreigners and offers generous social services, Romania is notorious for squalid Roma ghettos and poor working conditions for the country’s large population of Roma migrants. The government has razed a series of illegal Roma squatter camps and repatriated thousands of their residents in the past three years.

The vast majority of Roma migrants are employed in unskilled jobs and many earn less than the minimum wage, relying on such activities as beggary, prostitution and petty crime to support their families. The government argues the forced returns and dismantling of squalid camps are necessary to improve the living standards of Roma, who are also disproportionately represented in jails.

Since 2007, Romania and Bulgaria have been full members of the EU, but “transitional arrangements” in their accession mean that citizens from these two former communist bloc states cannot work fully in France without obtaining special permits. They are restricted to a list of jobs and must pay employers a 713-euro surcharge for hiring them. Nevertheless, Romanian physicians are among the most numerous in French hospitals that report shortages, especially in areas where recruiting is challenging — such as psychiatry.

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