EU Enlargement "Beneficial" to UK Economy

Politics » BULGARIA IN EU | November 23, 2006, Thursday // 00:00

A report of the British parliament argues that the country's economy has benefited from the UK open-door policy towards EU10 migrant workers in 2004.

It has called to EU politicians to engage the public on benefits of the EU enlargement.

The European Union Committee of the House of Lords (UK) has conducted an inquiry to find out whether further enlargement of the EU should be seen as a threat or an opportunity.

The Committee's final report, released on Thursday, states that the EU enlargement is good for old and new members. According to the study, immigration of high skilled, low cost workforce from EU10 has helped British companies to better compete, for example, with the emerging economies of Asia.

It also states that faced with restrictions in some of the EU15 in 2004, the EU10 workers had simply joined the black economy.

The Committee points out that "expert opinion is far more positive towards further EU expansion than the public opinion," and calls on western European politicians "to do more to engage the public on the benefits of EU expansion and to challenge the negative media portrayal of an enlarged EU."

The report also calls on the EU-25 to have a more consistent and coherent line as regards the accession of Turkey and urges them "to keep the door open to the Western Balkans" to encourage them to "move away from corruption and sectarian violence".

They added the countries of the western Balkans - Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Albania - were "fragile and fractious" and could return to sectarian violence without the prospect of EU membership.

The government has imposed restrictions on the rights of unskilled Bulgarians and Romanians to work in Britain, when those countries join the EU in January.

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