Scotland may become the only part of the UK to welcome workers from Romania and Bulgaria when they join the EU next year.

According to Sunday's edition of Scotsman, Scottish Executive Jack McConnell is negotiating a deal with immigration officials in a step to let more migrants in to help address population decline.

The move is in sharp contrast to England, which is expected to impose tough restrictions on migrants from the two countries, the edition commented. More than 50,000 people from Romania and Bulgaria are expected to apply to work in Britain once they become fully fledged members of the European Union next January.

A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said they were pressing the UK government to ensure that "Scottish flexibility" was built into the system if regulations on Romania and Bulgaria were imposed.

Under the draft scheme, migrants will get extra points if they come to Scotland, and also if they apply for work where there is a specific skills shortage. Skilled workers from Romania and Bulgaria will therefore find it easier to get work in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.

McConnell has added it was important that the accession of Bulgaria and Romania did "not destabilise the nations of the EU". He also shared "enthusiasm" for the wave of new immigrants to Scotland who had already settled there.

A total of 32,000 Eastern European jobseekers have already arrived in Scotland, while across the UK as a whole, 427,000 Poles, Czechs, Lithuanians and Slovakians have settled here. The figures are piling pressure on ministers in London to enforce restrictions on Bulgaria and Romania.

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