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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| 'Gradual access' for EU entrants | 'Gradual access' for EU entrants |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Proposals for allowing Bulgarians and Romanians "gradual access" to the UK are being drawn up by the government as both nations prepare to join the EU. | Proposals for allowing Bulgarians and Romanians "gradual access" to the UK are being drawn up by the government as both nations prepare to join the EU. |
| Immigration Minister Liam Byrne told GMTV the government needed to consider the types of immigration control needed for people from both countries. | Immigration Minister Liam Byrne told GMTV the government needed to consider the types of immigration control needed for people from both countries. |
| Home Secretary John Reid has previously said immigration from the two countries needed to be "carefully managed". | Home Secretary John Reid has previously said immigration from the two countries needed to be "carefully managed". |
| Mr Byrne said the government would report back to Parliament in October. | Mr Byrne said the government would report back to Parliament in October. |
| "We have always argued that Europe should be bigger - we think that it is good for the British economy," he said. | "We have always argued that Europe should be bigger - we think that it is good for the British economy," he said. |
| "But the question to which people, I think, will turn quite quickly is whether Bulgaria and Romania should be given an open-door access to labour market jobs in the UK." | "But the question to which people, I think, will turn quite quickly is whether Bulgaria and Romania should be given an open-door access to labour market jobs in the UK." |
| I don't foresee a real potential for migration into the UK to work Calin Popescu Tariceanu Prime minister of Romania | |
| He told the programme there was a case for "only very gradual access". | He told the programme there was a case for "only very gradual access". |
| Formal approval for the two EU newcomers is due to be granted on Tuesday. | Formal approval for the two EU newcomers is due to be granted on Tuesday. |
| Romania's prime minister, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, told the BBC that concerns about a sudden influx of workers from his country into the UK were misplaced. | |
| "Of course there were Romanians who have left the country in the last 15 years but their destinations were linked to our cultural background," he said. | |
| "That means they prefer to go either in Italy or in Spain because we are a Latin country and they have the capacity to learn the local language. | |
| "I don't foresee a real potential for migration into the UK to work." | |
| Bulgaria's prime minister, Sergei Stanishev, said his country's "integration" would be vital. | Bulgaria's prime minister, Sergei Stanishev, said his country's "integration" would be vital. |
| "It is important not only that we formally join the EU - although this is a historic event...the final fall of the Berlin Wall for Bulgaria - but it is equally important how Bulgaria's economy will integrate [into the EU]...how we will implement Europe's social model," he said. | "It is important not only that we formally join the EU - although this is a historic event...the final fall of the Berlin Wall for Bulgaria - but it is equally important how Bulgaria's economy will integrate [into the EU]...how we will implement Europe's social model," he said. |
| Employment limitations | Employment limitations |
| Mr Byrne's remarks come after Home Secretary John Reid hinted last week that Romanians and Bulgarians would not be given unlimited rights to work in Britain when they join the EU. | Mr Byrne's remarks come after Home Secretary John Reid hinted last week that Romanians and Bulgarians would not be given unlimited rights to work in Britain when they join the EU. |
| Mr Reid said immigration from the two countries would need to be "carefully managed". | Mr Reid said immigration from the two countries would need to be "carefully managed". |
| The approach contrasts with the government's decision not to impose limits on the number of Polish nationals and others allowed to work in the UK after the previous EU enlargement in May 2004. | The approach contrasts with the government's decision not to impose limits on the number of Polish nationals and others allowed to work in the UK after the previous EU enlargement in May 2004. |
| While other European governments imposed a range of quotas and other restrictions, UK ministers said the immigrants were needed to fill gaps in the labour market. | While other European governments imposed a range of quotas and other restrictions, UK ministers said the immigrants were needed to fill gaps in the labour market. |
| Latest figures show 427,000 have arrived in Britain from Poland and seven other ex-Soviet states, but the figure may be 600,000 including self-employed workers such as builders. | Latest figures show 427,000 have arrived in Britain from Poland and seven other ex-Soviet states, but the figure may be 600,000 including self-employed workers such as builders. |
| Original official estimates said there would be no more than 5,000 to 13,000 arrivals a year. | Original official estimates said there would be no more than 5,000 to 13,000 arrivals a year. |
| European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has previously said the EU cannot cope with any more members after Bulgaria and Romania until it introduces major decision-making and administrative changes. | European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has previously said the EU cannot cope with any more members after Bulgaria and Romania until it introduces major decision-making and administrative changes. |