Portuguese officials and Irish experts delivered differing opinions on what the two countries should do with immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria, once these Eastern European states join the EU next year.

While Portugal pushes for a balanced approach and suggests the EU to adopt a single policy on immigration, social researchers in Ireland say a pause is needed in the wave of migrants from new member states.

Portuguese PM Jose Socrates, quoted by AFP said on Tuesday he supported the adoption of a single European policy on immigration and warned about the need of better integrating immigrants. He made the statement before an International Conference on Migration, convened in Lisbon.

The Socialist PM defended the “humanist” policy of his government, who tried to encourage legal immigration, and said immigrants had a clear role in the economic growth of Europe.

Also on Tuesday, an Irish social studies organization, ESRI, called for a limit to the number of Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants after the two countries join the EU. ESRI member Alab Barret said the organization did not oppose migration, but believed there had to be a “pause” in the current regime applied to immigrants from Eastern Europe.

Ireland is one of the only three member states that provided unlimited access to their markets for immigrants from new EU members.