UK 'foreign worker' plan: What the European media say

European media irked by Amber Rudd's "controversial" proposal

Home Secretary Amber Rudd's proposal at the Conservative Party conference that companies should be made to disclose what percentage of their workforce is non-British has attracted a good deal of media criticism on the Continent.

Eastern European media were particularly irked by the suggestion. They noted that despite the UK government's subsequent "backpedalling" on the plan, such proposals could "irreversibly damage" the UK's image as a liberal and open country. 

'Goodbye, world!'

The German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine expressed its concerns over the UK's "increasing anti-foreign and protectionist rhetoric" and described Ms Rudd's proposal as the "shrillest reaction… to the growing resentment against foreigners in Great Britain so far".

Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine is concerned about the UK's "anti-foreign rhetoric"

In an article entitled "Goodbye, world", another German paper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, observed that "this is not just about visas and fees. This is a new spirit since the Brexit vote".

Some media outlets in other European countries noted that the home secretary's initiative had sparked an "angry and indignant" reaction, even among Brexit supporters in the UK. 

The French business daily Les Echos said that the sense of outrage was so strong that the British government had been forced to row back on the proposal in a bid to put an end to the controversy. This was in reference to the British government's later statement suggesting that UK companies would not be told to list or name foreign workers they employ after all. 

France's Les Echos: "London tries to dampen down the controversy"

Similarly, Belgium's RTL Info radio said that Britain had no choice but "to backpedal on the plan to list foreign workers".

'War against migrants'

Media in Eastern Europe were equally indignant in their condemnation of Ms Rudd's proposal, which Poland's TVN24 channel described as "controversial".

The Romanian paper Adevarul noted that "London is creating obstacles for foreign workers" and predicted "hard times for foreign students and doctors" in the UK. The Digi24.ro website was even more blunt. "Brexit: London wages a war against migrants," it said.

Romanian paper Adevarul foresees "hard times for foreign students and doctors in UK"

The Czech website iDNES.cz warned that Ms Rudd's plan exposed "the ugly side of Britain".

Another Czech news website, Denik.cz, predicted that the proposed practices would "irreversibly damage the reputation of Britain as an open and liberal economy".

Czech daily Denik warns that the proposed plan will damage Britain's reputation abroad

This view was echoed by the Hungarian news website Index, which said that "many people, including British employers, have baulked at Rudd's plans, and some are already saying that the government intends to make racism almost compulsory in Britain".

BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.