Austria looks like extending its ban on Croatian workers for another two years.

Austrian Minister of Labour, Beate Hartinger-Klein, opposes full opening of the labour market to Croatian citizens this year. "We need to consider that there are 400,000 unemployed people in Austria. We will report this to the European Commission by June 30, and provide our arguments for this," the minister added. Austria must decide by July 1 this year whether it will extend the restrictions for the work of Croatian citizens for another two years.

"We are thinking of taking full advantage of the seven-year transitional period for Croatia," Klein said. The leader of the Social Democrats, Christian Kern, has commented that Croatia's citizens pose a potential threat to the labour market in Austria, and estimates that there could be 150,000 arriving in the next five years.