Slovenia hasn’t followed the lead of Great Britain and has decided to prolong the ban on Croatian workers for another two years. The Slovenia government has proposed a law under which the labour market in Slovenia for Croatian citizens would remain closed for two more years. This comes after news just this week that the UK will open the market to Croatian workers from the 1st of July.

The Slovenian government commented in a brief statement that the aim of the proposed law was to align this issue with the labour market situation in Slovenia, thus ensuring its stability in the next two years.

The move to ban Croatian workers has brought reaction from Slovenian business, with the Chamber of Commerce adding that it was a wrong move and an “own goal” for the economy. The chamber has called on the government to withdraw the proposal and to draft a new law.

The abolition of restrictions on the employment of Croatian citizens has recently been announced by Malta, the former British colony, and today the smallest member of the EU as well as the UK. This means that further restrictions on the employment of Croatian citizens within the EU remain only in the Netherlands, Austria and Slovenia. Other EU members have already abolished restrictions on the employment of Croatian citizens.