APPENDIX 1
FT Letter, 29 August 2006: Business leaders
call for open market approach towards Bulgaria and Romania.
If Bulgaria and Romania join the EU at the beginning
of next year, the UK should continue with its open door policy.
A so called pause in migration from these countries would be tantamount
to a reversal of policy and could work against Britain's interest.
Migration to the UK from Europe, both historically
and following the 2004 enlargement, has fuelled growth and has
highlighted the attractiveness of the UK's liberalised economy.
It is disappointing to hear some government ministers equivocate
on this issue in the face of hysterical scare stories about the
potential influx of Romanian and Bulgarian migrants. The simple
fact is that workers from other European countries come to the
UK because there are jobs. It is a cause for support, not retrenchment.
Look at the benefits so far. According to the
latest statistics from the Home Office, there are 447,000 registered
workers in the UK from the 2004 accession countries. Of those
who have applied for NI numbers since 2004, 98% were for employment
purposes.
Other European countries are now following the
example of the UK—which along with Sweden and Ireland—was
the first to embrace the spirit of enlargement in 2004 by allowing
the free movement of people. Finland, Spain, Portugal, Greece,
Italy have now opened their labour markets to young and motivated
workers from Poland, Slovakia the Czech Republic and elsewhere.
As advisory council members of the organisation,
Business for New Europe, we believe that in reaching its decision,
the UK government should be guided both by economic reason and
by recent historical experience.
22 October 2007
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