'Romanian invasion' in UK fails to eventuate

A month has passed since Romanians and Bulgarians were given the right to work without restriction in the EU. That raised fears in Britain that many would cross the channel, but early indications suggest very few have made the move.

romania_eu_flag_getty.jpg

A man looks at an EU flag before purchasing it from a street vendor on December 31, 2006 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Bulgaria and Romania will join the European Union on 01 January 2007, forming 27 countries in the EU. (Getty)

A quarantine period that kept Bulgarians and Romanians out of the jobs market in the UK and eight other EU states ended on January 1, seven years after the two countries achieved full EU membership.

The temporary restrictions meant Bulgarians and Romanians could only apply for jobs in the agricultural and food processing sectors under a quota system.

Tricia McCarron from Worldwide Fruit Limited says in the last month she has seen no sign of a mass migration of Romanians or Bulgarians in Britain.

"We haven’t seen any here and I've also checked with our agency GM recruitment and they've had no applications either," Ms McCarron said.

"We’ve always got jobs and if they were able to do the jobs, if they shared our values and had the right skills we would employ them."

In Peterborough, Britain’s fastest growing city, predictions of mass migration have not materialised either.

"I never thought it was likely and because we didn’t think it was likely I didn’t think it was going to be any bigger challenge then the one we already have," said Councillor Marco Cereste from Peterborough City Council.

"Our evidence shows us that we’ve got one Romanian family that’s arrived in Peterborough recently."

Nurse Liliana Demeter moved from Romania a decade ago and says she finds the language of the immigration debate offensive.

"They’re not on benefits. I don’t know even one Romanian to even be on benefits," she said.

"Are we in the European Union or not? It would better not to let us come [if we’re going to] just be put through all this humiliation."

The government will publish the first official arrival figures in five months time.


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2 min read

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By Brett Mason

Source: SBS



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