The Romanians will assault the Great Britain

The Britons are to be invaded by the Romanians and the Bulgarians right after the integration of the two countries in the EU. The experts do not agree when it comes to the impact of this phenomenon because the immigration also brings extra costs and benefits.

Two studies made public by the Britons yesterday have totally opposite conclusions: an analysis group close to PM Tony Blair asks for full work rights for the more than 50,000 Romanians and Bulgarians that will arrive in the Great Britain next year; the second institute warns about the money that the British taxpayers will have to pay in order to support the new wave of immigrants.

SUPPORT FOR US

The Institute for Research on Public Politics (IRPP) revealed that the British economy will receive a positive impulse in 2007, when 56,000 immigrants are expected to arrive in the country. Bulgaria’s and Romania’s integrations in the EU on January 1st 2007 will lead to the migration of approximately 41,000 Romanians and 15,000 Bulgarians to Great Britain, who will be looking for a better standard of living. The institute, one close to PM Tony Blair, says the Britons shouldn’t worry about anything, because the economy will profit from this. For example, in the first year after the Union’s extension in 2004, the 117,000 immigrants from Eastern Europe, who were mostly Polish, brought a benefit of 345 million euros with a minimum expense from the British taxpayers. "Romania’s and Bulgaria’s integrations must be seen as opportunities, but not as threats", the ICPP director, Danny Sriskandarajah, stated.

"The workers in these countries will join the important Eastern-European work force, which occupies good jobs already", he added.

AGAINST

The report of the Migrationwatch Group says exactly the opposite. Migrationwatch warns about the fact that the Britons will have to pay approximately 288 million euros per year for the immigrants. According to this research, the numbers the Government presented, numbers according to which the income for the budget will increase, are incorrect because the money the Government spends with the children bourn in Great Britain from immigrant parents are not taken into account. This is why the British taxpayers actually support the immigration and don’t benefit from it at all.

OFFICIALLY

The EU’s opinion about immigration is quite clear. The EU would like the old members to open their labor markets for the workers of the new members in the Eastern Europe. The European Commission militates for the extension of the work force exchange, especially because the Eastern-Europeans that found jobs in the West occupied the vacancies in the important fields. For now, the system of the work permits in some countries is made in such a way that he immigrants are rather encouraged to work on the black market. In Great Britain, Ireland and Sweden, countries where there are no restrictions for workforce immigration, the reports have showed only "positive" experiences.

Translated by Sorin Balan