The British government has ordered appropriate changes to the country's legislation to ensure that citizens of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta have the right to freely search for and take up employment in the UK without additional permits. At the same time, however, the law denies citizens of these countries the right to claim British social benefits and allowances for two years or even longer.
The United Kingdom has always welcomed hardworking immigrants who seek a better life for themselves and are ready to contribute to the prosperity of our country, and tougher benefit rules will ensure that our generosity is not abused," Blunkett said, explaining the government's decision.
According to the minister, the influx of new labor from Central and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean will help fill gaps in the UK labor market, which currently lacks about 550,000 workers of various specialties.
Meanwhile, the British government does not intend to let the situation with labor movement take its course. Instead of a permit-based system for obtaining work, a notification-based system is being introduced, when people coming to work will have to register. If monitoring shows that the country has a surplus of labor, the UK government reserves the right to review this procedure and re-introduce the work permit system.
At the same time, the British government makes it clear that it intends to wage a tough fight against those who engage in social tourism and try to obtain benefits and allowances without working. "People can come to the UK only if they have a job. And if they cannot support themselves, they will be asked to leave the country," UK Prime Minister Tony Blair commented on his government's decision in an interview with the BBC.
Of all the current 15 EU countries, only Britain and Ireland will allow citizens of new EU member states to come to work without restrictions. The remaining countries intend to impose certain restrictions on the movement of labor migration flows from these states to their territories.