England Sets a Trap to Bulgarian, Romanian Workers
England is preparing a preemptive strike on the eve of the expected in-rush of the Bulgarian and Romanian job seekers in 2014. It will be then that following the EU rules the Great Britain will have to open its labor market to the citizens of the two Balkan states. That is why migrants from Romania and Bulgaria could be barred from using NHS hospitals if they come to Britain without a job, Home Secretary Theresa May suggested yesterday, as quoted by Daily Mail. The Home Secretary admitted she would not be able to extend travel restrictions on the two countries when these expire at the end of next year. But she said she was determined to limit the so-called ‘pull factors’ blamed for drawing thousands of jobless migrants to the UK. Home Office sources said officials were looking at restricting access to key public services for migrants who arrive here without a job. Areas being looked at include healthcare, education, housing and benefits. Detailed proposals will be published next year but enforcing any ban will be fraught with difficulties. The scheme has echoes of California’s controversial ‘Proposition 187’ law, which barred undocumented immigrants from using public services. The law was adopted in 1994 but abandoned five years later after it was ruled unconstitutional. Mrs May told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: ‘I will be looking at the transitional controls on Romania and Bulgaria at the end of 2013. 'I will be looking at what we call the pull factors, what is it that attracts people sometimes to come over here to the United Kingdom, so looking at issues about benefits, and access to the Health Service, and things like that.’
Source: standartnews.com