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Open-door policy not to apply to new EU States
October 2006
Romanians and Bulgarians will face restrictions on working in Britain when their countries join the European Union next year, Alistair Darling, the trade and industry secretary, said yesterday.
The government is due to decide this Autumn whether the citizens of the new accession countries should enjoy the same unrestricted right to work in Britain as Poles and other east Europeans who joined the EU in 2004.
But Mr Darling’s interventions, together with recent statements from John Reid, home secretary, indicates the cabinet will impose restrictions to migrant workers from Romania and Bulgaria if they become EU citizens as scheduled, from January 1.
Asked whether they would be an “open door” approach to Romanian and Bulgarian migrant workers, Mr Darling said “No, no-one who deals with immigration fails to realise that we have a system which is properly managed, properly controlled”.
Last week, business organisations told the FT they wanted to see a “pause” before workers from Romania and Bulgaria were allowed unrestricted access to the UK’s labour market. Although an influx of workers from eastern Europe since 2004 has been valuable to the economy – particularly to sectors such as construction where there are skill shortages – the CBI, British Chambers of Commerce and the British Hospitality Association warned that the economy could not necessarily absorb another large wave of immigrants.
The government originally predicted that 13,000 eastern Europeans would come to the UK seeking work after the 2004 enlargement. But official figures show at least 300,000 have registered to work in Britain and experts say the true number could be as high as 800,000.
The UK was one of only three EU member states which did not impose employment restrictions.
Concerns are rife among business groups and senior politicians that the numbers arriving from Romania and Bulgaria would be very large because they have less developed economies.
The Local Government Association has complained that schools and other local services are already under excessive pressure from an immigrant population that has not been predicted or measured accurately.
The police have also expressed concern about criminals trafficking people and drugs from Serbia and Albania gaining access to the UK once they cross into the EU via Rumania and Bulgaria. But the European Commission, which in October must produce its latest report on whether the two countries are ready to join the EU, could block the next round of enlargement because of these concerns. The Commission has recommended a delay to the accession plans because organised crime and corruption were still too prevalent.
Damian Green, Conservative spokesman on immigration, said the government should take the decision to restrict migrant workers rights as soon as possible to remove uncertainty. “By controlling the numbers we can make life much better for everyone involved” he said “Not only will we ensure the public service and housing infrastructure can cope, we will avoid people coming here only to fall into a life of squalor”.
Financial Times September 06
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