The Spanish government endorsed a proposal made by the Labour Ministry not to renew the two-year restrictions imposed on Croatians workers when their country joined the European Union on 1 July 2013.
Croatia's EU accession treaty envisaged the possibility of a transitional period during which EU member countries could introduce employment restrictions for Croatians according to the model "2+3+2", meaning that the initial two-year period of restricted access to the labour market could be extended by three more years, and by an additional two years if there was a justified reason for it.
When Croatia joined the EU on 1 July 2013, 13 countries - Germany, Greece, France, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Austria, Great Britain, Slovenia, Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, Italy and Malta - used the option to restrict access to their labour markets for Croatian nationals for a period of two years.
After Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, Spain has been now the fourth country to opt for lifting the employment ban for job-seekers with Croatian passports.
Slovenia and Austria have, in the meantime, decided to extend the restrictions for three years.