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"Romanian doctors arrive en masse in Belgium," headlines De Standaard. The daily reports on newly published figures which show that 35% of doctors presenting foreign diplomas for registration in Belgium — 184 MDs in 2009 — are from Romania. The influx has been prompted by poor working conditions in their country of origin and chronic understaffing issues in Belgian hospitals. According to Marc Moens, of the Federation of Belgian Medical Trade Unions, the vast majority of Romanian doctors are "working in a legal grey area," because most of them do not have a social security number. Between 2000 and 2009, only four of them were officially registered. "The fact that no one knows where they are working, what they are doing, or how much they are paid has left the door open to all kinds of abuses," remarks the union representative, deploring a situation in which doctors from other EU countries “are free to work in Belgium” while the number of Belgian doctors is subject to a strict legal quota.
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