Rotterdam city council needs urgent assistance in housing hundreds of immigrants from central and eastern Europe, city council executive Hamit Karakus says in Friday’s NRC.

In particular the arrival of Bulgarians with little chance of finding work is taxing city housing, Karakus says.
Despite earlier assurances, the government has not done what it should, leaving the council struggling to cope with the influx, Karakus said
Low skilled
City council research published on Friday shows most Bulgarian newcomers are low-skilled, arrive in groups and rely on the ‘grey and illegal’ jobs market.
Despite being part of the EU, people from Bulgaria and Romania need a work permit to get a job in the Netherlands.
Some 4,000 Bulgarians live in Rotterdam, mostly Turkish-speaking, the research shows.
In 2007, Rotterdam organised a special summit of local authority leaders to discuss the ‘problems’ being caused by the influx of Polish workers.