Britain remains the most lucrative destination in the European Union for Romanians and Bulgarians with a “generous” welfare system providing a major incentive for migrants despite new curbs being introduced, it has been claimed.
David Cameron has rushed through a plan to introduce a three-month wait before EU migrants can claim out-of-work benefits so it coincides with the end of temporary controls that had blocked citizens from the two countries moving to the UK.
But the reforms do not affect welfare payments for claimants with jobs, meaning migrants will still have more in-salary and in-work benefits than in any other major European country, according to Migration Watch UK.
Business leaders, however, have said lifting the restrictions on January 1 will help “cement our economic recovery” as well as fill the gap in the number of skilled workers companies need.
Lifting the transitional controls to give citizens of the two countries unrestricted access to the UK labour market from tomorrow has become a flashpoint in the increasingly bitter debate over immigration in Britain.
A worker with a spouse and two children on half the average wage in Romania or Bulgaria would be three times better off in Spain or Italy but six times better off in the UK, according to the report by Migration Watch UK.
The think-tank found that Germany remains the “most attractive destination” with its low unemployment rate and large number of vacancies, but reiterated its previous analysis predicting that 250,000 Romanians and Bulgarians will move to the UK over the next five years.
Migration Watch UK chairman Sir Andrew Green said: “There must now be a renegotiation of the benefit system in the EU which was designed before 100 million people in much poorer countries joined the EU.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith insists the reforms that have been pushed through will “not allow people to come to our country and take advantage”.