Bulgarian MEP Urges Brits to Calm Immigration Fears

Politics » BULGARIA IN EU | December 26, 2013, Thursday // 19:44
Bulgaria: Bulgarian MEP Urges Brits to Calm Immigration Fears Ivaylo Kalfin. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian member of European Parliament and former Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin has assured Britons they need not fear an influx of Bulgarian immigrants from January 1.

In a video address to the British people, Kalfin labeled UK politician Nigel Farage’s comments that 29 million Bulgarians and Romanians will flood the country as “nonsense”.

“This prediction is nonsense. The number is more than the total population of the two countries”, said Kalfin.

The MEP backed his argument with statistical data, showing that for every 600 unemployed British citizens, there is only 1 Bulgarian. He added that the total number of Bulgarian women receiving maternity benefits is 148.

“Most Bulgarians in the UK are there for working or studying. Bulgarian and Romanian students pay up to GBP 30 M annually to study there”, stressed Kalfin.

Last month, Ivaylo Kalfin wrote an open letter to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, urging him to drop the populist fears and proposed measures for curbing Bulgarian and Romanian immigration.

This came days after the controversial announcement of Cameron that he intends to introduce tougher restrictions for immigrants receiving social benefits.

The European Commission was critical of the UK government’s move as well, in what it called an “anti-European” policy.

You can watch the full address of Ivaylo Kalfin here.

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Tags: UK, Ivaylo Kalfin, David Cameron, immigration, immigrants, Romanian, Nigel Farage

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