Prague - France is set to open its labour market to citizens from eight EU countries in Eastern Europe, almost a year earlier than planned, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner indicated Tuesday.

He said French President Nicolas Sarkozy would likely make an announcement Wednesday during a visit to Warsaw. A French newspaper said earlier that Sarkozy would unveil the initiative in the Polish capital.

"Let the president announce it, probably tomorrow in Warsaw," Kouchner told reporters in Prague. "I think indeed it is not a rumour completely without basis."

Les Echos, a Paris business daily, reported Monday that Sarkozy would offer unrestricted access to the French labour market to citizens from eight ex-communist European Union countries plus Malta and Cyprus.

All joined the EU on May 1, 2004 and France originally planned to wait five years to let in workers from those nations. The eastern easing will apply to Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia, the newspaper said.

Workers from Romania and Bulgaria, which joined the EU last year, still have to wait, Les Echos said.

Reports of the planned opening came as France prepares to take over the EU presidency for six months starting July.

Kouchner said he expects Sarkozy to "also talk about modalities", suggesting that any opening may be limited to certain professions.

"It was planned that the discussion would be about some jobs, towards a larger opening than the one already made," he said. (dpa)