Possible discrimination against Romanian, Bulgarian, Slovenian, Estonian and Lithuanian workers in the UK

Question for written answer  E-000299/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Dragoș Pîslaru (Renew)

Following the Brexit agreement, the United Kingdom has introduced new regulations on how EU citizens can obtain work visas. The fee for the T5 visa is GBP 244, with a GBP 55 reduction for citizens from certain countries. However, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Slovenia and Lithuania are not included in this reduction list, with the justification that they are not signatories of the Council of Europe’s Social Charter. This is a blatant error, as Romania, for example, ratified the Charter in 1999. There are diverse ranges of application of the Charter among EU Member States, but a number of countries on the reduction list are in the same position.

This measure thus appears to be discriminatory.

I would therefore like to ask the Commission the following questions:

• 1.What is the Commission’s stance in cases of discrimination against some EU citizens by a third state with which the EU has formal agreements, in this case the UK?
• 2.What is the reasoning for this measure and how can further such issues be prevented?
• 3.What steps can the Commission take in its negotiations with the UK Government to solve this issue?