Spain is set to avert a potential clash on European Union expansion by accepting a German-backed plan to restrict worker movement without demanding continued European payouts, a Spanish newspaper reported today.
Spain will support the bid to delay the free movement of workers from Eastern Europe in a meeting with 15 ambassadors tomorrow,
El Pais
newspaper reported, citing official but unnamed German and Spanish sources.
Spain, the largest recipient of EU aid for impoverished regions, has annoyed some member-states by demanding continued financial assistance in return for backing the German proposal.
Following high-level discussions between Germany and Spain, Spain told the German ambassador it would not obstruct the German proposal, dissipating concern the spat could cloud the EU's June summit in Gothenburgin Sweden, the paper said.
The first new EU members are expected to join the 15-nation block in 2004 or 2005 and much of the aid received by Spain would be diverted to poorer Eastern European countries.
Candidate countries feared the stand-off between Spain and Germany could delay the enlargement process.
A Spanish foreign ministry spokesman said he could neither confirm nor deny the report in El Pais, calling it speculation.