By the end of 2008 Bulgaria was in its first EU membership transitional stage. Basically that means that Bulgarians could work in EU country members with a work permit. From January 1 2009 Greece, Portugal, Spain and Hungary made a decision to open their labor markets for Bulgarian citizens. Denmark also announced that it will open its labor market from May 1 2009

This week a statistic came out about unemployment in Greece and it says that during February 4136 people have lost their jobs and another 774 have gone on mandatory leave. Since November 2008 the unemployment in Greece has increased with 12 012 people. The most problematic sectors are the industrial and textile fields. The newest information shows that the unemployment in Greece has reached 7.8% and it can increase during the second half of the 2009

The EU acceptation agreements for the admission of two new countries - Bulgaria and Romania, will be enforced from January 1 2007. In Greece, the citizens of those two countries are believed to be communal citizens in all regions, except for the labor market, for which the country has kept the transitional measures for two years.

The State Council approved three presidential bills, which recognize the medical diplomas of Bulgarian and Romanian doctors, dentists, and pharmacists, who can now practice their professions freely in Greece.

The Greek Supreme Court passed an unprecedented decision, with which it practically legalized all illegally working foreigners in the country (but only in the cattle-breeding and agriculture sectors). This decision affects hundreds of thousands of foreigners, predominantly from Bulgaria and Albania, who are working under really bad conditions in the Greek farming sector.

Гърция ще се възползва от правото си да изиска от Европейската комисия преходен период от две години преди да отвори пазара на труда за работници от България и Румъния, твърди в днешния си брой вестник „Елефтерос Типос”. Под заглавие „Стоп за българи и румънци” всекидневникът публикува голяма статия за мярката, която Гърция ще наложи на България и Румъния.