More Romanians and Bulgarians to flood U.K in 2014 as restrictions relax

Thousands of Bulgarians and Romanians 'plan to flood UK in 2014' as employment restrictions relax




By Nick Craven and George Arbuthnott

PUBLISHED:01:25, 27 January 2013| UPDATED:04:09, 27 January 2013

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Hordes of Romanians and Bulgarians are already preparing to head for Britain in search of work, according to a Mail on Sunday investigation.

Employment restrictions will be relaxed on December 31, and the UK will throw open its Jobcentres and benefit offices to what pressure group Migration Watch predicts could be as many as 70,000 people a year for the next five years.

The Government refuses to reveal its own estimates and the authorities in Romania and Bulgaria are sceptical of Migration Watch figures, but have not compiled their own.



Flying the flag: The Best Opportunity Agency in Bucharest is expected to help Romanians travel to Britain

However, our research in the EU’s two poorest countries found plenty of migrants among their combined populations of 29 million waiting for the chance to travel to Britain.


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As soon as they find a job, they will also become eligible for a raft of income-related benefits far more generous than anything on offer in their home countries.

Access to welfare payments in Britain is easier than in either Germany or France, which will be relaxing work restrictions at the same time.

One job agency in Bucharest told our undercover reporter it already has hundreds registering for work in the UK from 2014 and the waiting list is so long they are no longer accepting applications.

Posing as a jobseeker, the Romanian reporter was told there was no point in even putting her name on a waiting list to travel to the UK in 2014 because of the huge numbers of her compatriots who had already applied.

Bosses at two other Romanian work-placement companies said they expected to send record numbers to Britain when open access is granted to the jobs market in the New Year.



As soon as they find a job, migrants (not pictured) will also become eligible for a raft of income-related benefits far more generous than anything on offer in their home countries

The reporter approached three Romanian employment agencies stating she was an unemployed graduate who was struggling to find work in Romania and was keen to take advantage of the change in the law and move to Britain.

At the Albatross Travel agency’s offices in north-west Bucharest, a staff member told her the firm routinely arranged coach-loads of migrants to be driven to Britain to take up jobs on farms.

But the agent added: ‘We have so many people who want to travel to Britain in 2014 because of the lifting of the work permit restriction, there is no point in even putting you on the waiting list.’

An agent for Blue Mountain Recruitment in Bacau, north-eastern Romania, said there were likely to be large numbers of British job opportunities if she returned later in the year.

‘Currently it’s very hard to find a job without a contract,’ he said. ‘But in 2014 that will change and we’re hoping to send many more people than we have before.’

Tatiana Geogea, director of Best Opportunity in northern Bucharest, expects her company to help at least 1,000 Romanians travel to Britain next year – the company’s previous record was 700 people in a year.

‘There is little doubt the numbers will increase,’ she said. ‘I just don’t think the English are willing to pick strawberries on a farm. Romanians have a terrific work ethic.’

Across the Danube in the Zhenski Pazar market in Sofia, Bulgaria, virtually everyone we spoke to said they would come to Britain.

‘I would love to go there and next year I will take my family,’ said Roma cigarette vendor Plamen Aljoshev, a 53-year-old father of two.

Slavka Mitova, 29, a mother of two who runs a butcher’s shop in Sofia, said: ‘There is no future here. The young people should go to England and make money.’

Why England? ‘Partly because of the language – young people are speaking some English,’ she said, ‘but your country has a reputation for fairness and treating people well.’

While the minimum wage in the UK is £6.19 per hour, in Bulgaria it is just 73p. Romania is not much better at 79p.

Meanwhile, the average weekly wage in Bulgaria is £63.50 and £86 in Romania.

The only state benefit available in either country is child benefit, which is £3.50 per child per week in Bulgaria and £3.69 in Romania. In Britain, a single person can claim up to £71 a week in jobseekers’ allowance and a couple can claim £111. Housing benefit varies depending on local authorities. Child benefit adds another £20.30 a week for the first child and £13.40 for each one after that.

The Department of Work and Pensions confirmed to The Mail on Sunday that visitors from the European Economic Area who demonstrate that they ‘have or retain worker status may be able to claim income-based jobseekers’ allowance, income support, housing benefit, council tax benefit, income-related employment and support allowance, and state pension credit’.

‘We are obliged under EU law to pay some income-related benefits to EEA workers, self-employed people and jobseekers,’ said a spokesman.

From January 1, 2014 that will also include the Bulgarians and Romanians.

Where I live there has already been a big influx of Romanians. One Woman sits on the floor outside Boots with a scarf around her mouth, purporting to sing and play the Guitar....just a noise.

Why is it the EU make these Rules and no one questions them? Britain is one of the smallest Countries in the EU but immigrants come here in droves because of our welfare System.

Time for our fossilised Governments to wake up to what is happening in Britain , the middle class is leaving in droves and graduating University students going to work in other Countries.

On thursday the jobcenter had one English man, my son, and the rest were European people, sitting on the floor as there wasn't enough room, waiting form their 'crisis loan'.

Morning Kitti, You have to lay the blame squarely on the Goverment for this, Cameron didn't even mention this in his speech but it is a massive problem now. When the Border Agency admits they have lost track of 20,000 immigrants and there is a backlog of 300,000 applications , what does the Government do? NOTHING. All the soldiers and sailors who have lost their jobs would do a better job.

David Cameron hints at curbs to EU migrant benefits


David Cameron has said that he wants to stop European Union migrants “abusing” the UK’s benefits system.








Ministers have said they will not attempt to predict the number of Romanian or Bulgarian migrants that could be heading to the UK Photo: ALAMY





By Peter Dominiczak, Political Correspondent

2:16PM GMT 30 Jan 2013


172 Comments




The Prime Minister indicated that the Government could seek to restrict migrant’s access to benefits in the UK.


His comments come amid a growing row about the number of Romanian and Bulgarian migrants preparing to come to the UK when controls are lifted at the end of the year.


Twenty nine million Bulgarians and Romanians will gain the right to live and work unrestricted in Britain in 2014 under European “freedom of movement” rules and ministers have warned that there could be an “influx” in the UK.


Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said last week that the Government will fight European Commission proposals to allow EU migrants to claim benefits from the day they enter the United Kingdom.


During Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons, Mr Cameron attacked the previous Labour government for allowing migration to get out of control.



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“If you take the last decade net migration to the UK was running at over 200,000 a year,” Mr Cameron said.

“That was two million across a decade – the equivalent of two cities the size of Birmingham.

“It was too far, it was too high and the last government bears a huge responsibility for not taking responsible decisions.”

Mr Cameron said that while he would “welcome” those who want to come to the UK and work, the Government would be “tough” on so-called benefits tourists.

“We obviously need to do more in terms of making sure that while we welcome people who want to come here and work from within the European Union we do take a tough approach to make sure that people aren’t abusing our benefits system,” Mr Cameron added.

Mr Duncan Smith last week said the Government was "utterly opposed" to plans to allow EU migrants to claim benefits in other member states.

Ministers fear it could lead to an influx of migrants from the EU keen to claim benefits.

But Mr Duncan Smith the Government would ensure the UK was not subject to the plans.

"We inherited a situation where there are rules for those who come in, habitual residency tests and other rules, which require that those who come in to this country are involved in some form of work,” Mr Duncan Smith said.

"But... with the European legislation in front of us at the moment, they are trying to make it so that (EU migrants) can claim benefits from day one.

"We are utterly opposed to this. We are fighting this and it is not my intention in any way to see this happen."

===========================

David Cameron "hints" at curbs when he must be aware of the huge influx already .!!!

Why bother, the country will be broke by the time the next Tsunami of beggars comes ashore..

malena stool wrote:Why bother, the country will be broke by the time the next Tsunami of beggars comes ashore..

Hi malena, this Government hasn't a clue and Britain has every right to decide how many immigrants it can reasonably take in. This is a small Country and the EU has gone too far , it is a dictatorship now .

Bulgaria-United Kingdom: Dear Mr Farage...


31 January 201324 Chasa Sofia


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British MEP Nigel Farage on the campaign trail in Winslow, UK, in April 2010
AFP

The comments of UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage regarding the "influx" of foreign workers who would arrive in the Britain following the opening up of the UK labour market to Bulgarians and Romanians in 2014 has provoked angry reactions from Sofia. One young Edinburgh-educated Bulgarian woman wrote an open letter to the Eurosceptic MEP.

Ralitsa Behar
I decided to write to you, because I was surprised by your comments [on Romanians and Bulgarians]. As a person who is Bulgarian, lived and studied in the UK and chose to go back to Bulgaria and build a career here instead of the UK, I wanted to take a stand on your statement regarding Bulgarian and Romanian immigrants and explain why I chose to go back to my home country.

Firstly, I would like to introduce myself and explain my reasoning behind this letter. When I was 18 years-old and was finishing high-school, I decided to continue my education abroad and applied to several universities throughout the UK. I got offers from four universities, but finally decided to take upon the offer from the University of Edinburgh, studying BSc (Hons) Mathematics and Business Studies at the School of Mathematics. It was a very proud moment for me and my family, as at it was, and still is, one of the most elite universities, ranked number 20 in the world at that time.

I lived in Edinburgh for four years and finished my studies successfully, gaining a 2:1. I can say that I was one of the active students and tried to get the best out of my time in university. I was participating in university societies and their committees, I volunteered in a charity, raising funds for cancer research; I also spent two months interning for a firm in London, and was later on offered a job position.

‘Untrue and insulting’


My strong connection to the UK is the reason why I decided to write this letter. Although I try and understand your immigration concerns, I must admit that I found your comments on Bulgaria untrue and somewhat insulting. In fact, they are only reaffirming my opinion of the wrong idea that people in the UK and around the world have about countries in Eastern Europe.

I want to clarify, that I am far away from thinking that Bulgaria is doing as well as I hope it would be. I do not live in a bubble where I think that everything here is perfect – I understand our problems with our government, our law system, our education and healthcare systems. Living in the UK for so long only made me realise how much more we need to do, to learn and to grow to make our country better. Nevertheless, I have to disagree with some of the false information that you shared during your appearance on the show.

Firstly, the data that you stated on Bulgaria is untrue:

You said that the average monthly salary in Bulgaria is €200. According to the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria, the average monthly salary in the country for the last quarter of 2012 is 754 Levs, which is €385.5, almost double the number that you said.

You said that the average monthly pension in Bulgaria is €100. The average monthly pension for 2012 is actually €138.

You said that almost 50 per cent of the people in Bulgaria live in poverty, however, the number is untrue; it is about 27 per cent, almost two times less.

False data


I was very surprised to hear such false data as I was thinking that a politician such as yourself would take the time to check this information, as it is easily accessible online in English.

Nevertheless, I must say that not only the untrue data that you stated on national television bothered me. I believe that statements such as "If I was a Bulgarian, I would be packing my bags now, wanting to come to Britain" are bold and somewhat inappropriate. And since you were focusing on the problems in our country and why we would choose to come live in your country, let me tell you why I chose to "pack my bags, wanting to go back to Bulgaria".

Firstly, Bulgaria is a country with great potential. I am a firm believer that young people, who study abroad should come back to Bulgaria to pursue their career goals. Having a degree from a foreign university, I realised that my know-how would be much more needed here, than in the UK. After all, we are the future of our country and I believe that we are the ones who can bring this country forward.

In this respect, I would also add that my knowledge was much more valued in Bulgaria. One cannot deny that there is fierce competition in the UK labour market and it is incredibly hard, even for young people with good education, to get jobs which will allow them to be financially independent.

Greater opportunities


Furthermore, I believe that Bulgaria provides much more opportunities for businesses. When in university, I wrote my dissertation on family businesses in Bulgaria since the fall of communism in 1989. One of the conclusions from my research was that there was, and still is great demand for the creation of small and medium enterprises in Bulgaria and one of the great benefits of doing this is the fact that we have the lowest flat tax of 10 per cent in Europe and only a 5 per cent dividend tax rate. Additionally, it is easy to quickly launch a nеw company in Bulgaria as the founding capital required is only €1.

I would like to say that with this letter I wanted not only to correct the false information that you stated on television; I also wanted to explain that not all Bulgarians and Romanians that come to the UK are "unskilled workers"; and even if they are, they also contribute to your economy.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to invite you to visit Bulgaria as a guest of me and my family, so that we can explain to you how much our country has changed over the past 20 years and see for yourself the potential that we have to grow even more in the future.

Finally, I want to clarify that this letter was written with good intentions. I hope that it sheds some light on the issues that you discussed regarding Bulgarian immigrants and I would be very thankful if I receive a reply from you.

On the web

• Original article at 24 Chasa bg
  
• YouTube clip of Nigel Farage on the BBC en
  

On the Web
‘Dear Brits, come see us instead’


The Internet has been buzzing with reaction in Romania and Bulgaria to comments by UK MEP Nigel Farage and to the British government's alleged intention to launch a campaign to dissuade Romanians and Bulgarians from coming to the United Kingdom once the restrictions on their UK working rights are lifted in January 2014.

In Bulgaria, a "Not OK for the UK" collective has been launched, complete with Facebook page, which responds to British clichés about Bulgarians. Meanwhile, in Bucharest, the daily Gândul has adopted the British Tourist Office slogan – "Why don't you come over?" – but is applying it to Romania instead.

United Kingdom: Don’t expect an immigrant tsunami in 2014


29 January 2013New Eastern Europe Cracow


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Christo Komarnitski

Ahead of the end of immigration controls on Romania and Bulgaria in January 2014, some UK ministers are thinking of running a campaign to deter a repeat of the 2004 “wave” of immigration when eight former communist countries gained EU working rights. But the eurozone crisis makes this prospect less likely.

Mathew Shearman
Next January, seven years after Romania and Bulgaria became citizens of the European Union, the the final transitional immigration controls on the two countries are set to expire. In the United Kingdom, parallels are already being drawn with the 2004 “wave” of immigration, when Poland and the other so-called A8 countries [Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithunia, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, who joined the EU in 2004] gained the rights to travel and work throughout the EU. [The UK introduced measures between 2004-2011 limiting the number of workers from new accession countries who could work in Britain.]

However, the main “pull” factors of immigration, which include employment opportunities, relative gross national income per capita (GNI per capita) and comparative opportunities across the EU, all suggest that the immigration flow from Romania and Bulgaria will not only be significantly smaller than 2004 levels, but will also be more diffuse throughout EU member states.

A recently released study by Oxford University's Migration Observatory has drawn out the long-term impact of A8 immigration on the UK, placing the “tsunami” effect into a broader context.

Estimations in 2004 predicted 15,000 people per year would move from the new EU member states to the UK, whereas the average annual Long-Term International Migration inflow of EU citizens increased to around 170,000 in the period 2004-2010, in comparison to the 67,000 over the previous six years.

A deep mark in the political landscape


As a percentage of EU citizens, the A8 immigrants accounted for around 50 per cent of that movement, meaning that Eastern Europeans made up only one-third of the total migrant inflow into the UK. Nevertheless, the failure to anticipate the impact of lifting these restrictions left a deep mark in the political landscape of the UK.

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) now displays a countdown clock on their website for when, as The Telegraph has also warned, “Twenty-nine million Bulgarians and Romanians will gain the right to live and work unrestricted in Britain.”

Research by the Open Society in Sofia actually suggests that the inflow of Bulgarian immigrants would be “far less significant in volume and it is less likely... [to] cause labour market disruption” than the A8 access.

A key driver for economic immigration is the high difference between unemployment levels. In 2004, unemployment in Poland lay at 18.9 per cent, compared to Britain's 4.6 per cent. While Bulgaria remains poor, its current unemployment rate has dropped to 12.4 per cent compared to the UK's 7.8 per cent. Given the trend of rising unemployment in the UK, the country's attractiveness as a destination of economic migration is in question. This is even more true for Romania, where unemployment is lower than the UK, at 6.7 per cent.

Less attractive destination


As Ivan Krastev, chair of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, recently pointed out in The Guardian, if unemployment was the only pull factor, Spain and Greece would be greater candidates for emigration. Given the declining youth population in Romania, generally the most mobile group, the pool of potential emigrants is also shrinking, and will spread more disparately in the hunt for opportunities.

The income differential, measured by GNI per capita, and its corollary of the desire to establish a better standard of living suggests the UK is a desirable place to work, but increasingly less than it was in 2004.

The GNIs of Romania and Bulgaria lie at about a half and one-third respectively of the UK's GNI, significantly more than the level of Poland (1/5th) during the 2004 surge of immigration.

Proliferation of choice


The proliferation of labour markets in the EU, generated by the mutual removing of visa restrictions across Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and France, as well as the UK, will lead to a proliferation of choice for economic migrants.

Plotting the key trends of migration is not a precise science, and certainly there will be increases in inflows of migration. But the instinct to predict immigration figures at the minute seems to inevitably lead to a discourse of outdated scaremongering over a scramble of jobs, housing and welfare resources, let alone by questioning the motives of those who emigrate.

These narratives will do little to aid policymakers tackle the endemic economic and societal problems that emerge from a common market, as well as hindering options to build a positive relationship with the new Eastern Europe.

On the web

• Original article at New Eastern Europe en
  

Immigration
UK sends foreigners mixed messages


“Please don't come to Britain – it rains and the jobs are scarce and low-paid,” begins The Guardian outlining a government plan currently under consideration to launch a negative advertising campaign in Bulgaria and Romania to persuade potential immigrants to stay away from the UK ahead of the 2014 deadline. The daily continues –

With governments around the world spending millions on hiring London-based consultants to undertake ‘reputation laundering’ there would be a peculiar irony if Britain chose to trash its own image. […] It also emerged as the Home Office launched a guide to Britishness for foreigners who would be citizens which opens with the words: ‘Britain is a fantastic place to live: a modern thriving society’.

While in Bucharest, Jurnalul Naţional rails against the British, saying –

If a Romanian billionaire announced he wanted to emigrate, they would be welcomed with open arms at Heathrow Airport. Now that the time has come for [the British] to open up the labour market for us and our brothers in Varna, [meaning the Bulgarian people]...

they pretend not to see that –

Ireland has already opened its labour market, and its economy has not declined.

German warning over Romanian and Bulgarian migration


German cities have warned that an influx of Romanian and Bulgarian economic
migrants will cost them dear and put the “social peace” at risk.









Romania and Bulgaria's citizens
can move to Britain for work when temporary limits expire on December 31 next
year. Photo: REX
FEATURES



By Rosa Silverman

6:30AM GMT 06 Feb 2013




A report by the German Association of Cities recounts problems of illegal
working, schoolchildren being unable to speak German and a rise in organised
crime since the migrants arrived.


Berlin, Hamburg, Dortmund and Hanover have seen a six-fold increase in
economic migration from the two countries since 2006, which they say has left
them struggling to cope.


The report says cities are facing “significant costs as a result of this
poverty migration”.


It calls on Chancellor Angela Merkel to provide financial assistance to help
them deal with the strain under which the migration is putting them, the Daily Mail reported.


“The social balance and social peace is extremely endangered,” the report
says.



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The warning comes amid fears in Britain that tens of thousands more Romanians
and Bulgarians will come here each year after formal restrictions on the numbers
of low-skilled workers from the two countries end next year.

A report by the campaign group Migration Watch UK warned last month that up
to 70,000 migrants could arrive annually from then.

But Romania’s ambassador, Dr Ion Jinga, has argued that Romanians are more
likely to migrate to countries such as Spain, Italy and France because of
linguistic similarities.

An annual quota was imposed when Romania and Bulgaria joined the European
Union in 2007, with the aim of limiting numbers to 25,000 a year in the UK.

But under EU rules on free movement, a country cannot impose restrictions on
the self-employed.

There are already more than 90,000 Bulgarians and 159,000 Romanians in
Germany but, as in Britain, they are not allowed to work legally until January
1, unless they declare themselves self-employed.
=============================
Well, now that Germany is voicing concern, the EU will act.!!!

The numbers of people going for swimming lessons will increase. it will have to as the population of the UK will sink under the weight of the immigrants coming in.

Keela wrote:The numbers of people going for swimming lessons will increase. it will have to as the population of the UK will sink under the weight of the immigrants coming in.

Yes Keela, yet Government does nothing.!!!!! Britain is a small Country , we are already overrun with Immigrants, thousands not accounted for. We should do like the Australians. They use an Island off the main coast to vet Immigrants and if they are found unsuitable they are flown back to whereever they came from.

This letter is in response to Ralitsas eailing against the U.K. demeaning her Country., it's excellent
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Bulgaria-United Kingdom: Dear Ralitsa, I do not hate your country


11 February 2013Presseurop



Nigel Farage delivering a speech in Bordeaux, France, on January 22, 2012.
AFP
Amid controversy about a possible “influx” of Eastern European workers, a young Bulgarian woman named Ralitsa wrote an open letter to British Eurosceptic leader Nigel Farage that was widely reproduced in the Bulgarian press. Here is the MEP’s reply.

Nigel FarageDear Ralitsa,
Thank you for your thoughtful letter and invitation to your country. I had planned to come this week but because I need to be in Brussels for an important European Council meeting I sadly cannot come. However, in my place I have asked my colleague MEP Paul Nuttall, the deputy leader of the UK Independence Party, to go in my stead. He shall be in Bulgaria on a fact-finding mission from Wednesday to Friday this week.
I am pleased my comments have helped create a debate in Bulgaria, a proud country with many well-educated people and much to celebrate.
You are right to love your country Bulgaria, as I love mine, the United Kingdom.
I love my country, but it does not mean I hate yours. I know many fantastic Bulgarians and I have no desire to dislike or disparage the wonderful people of Bulgaria.
Indeed, I have been delighted to welcome Bulgarian MEP Slavi Binev into our political group in the European Parliament where I am a Member.
It is great for you that you have been able to come to the UK and avail yourself of a free university education and free healthcare funded by the British taxpayer. Am I right to presume that your family are wealthy by Bulgarian standards so they can afford to pay your living expenses abroad for a long number of years?
Choose to return

I am sure you will agree that many Bulgarians have chosen or been forced by hard circumstances to leave the country they love and never return to live there, so you are quite exceptional in that you can choose to return to your homeland and be once again with your family and friends.
After the entry of a number of European countries to the EU in 2004, over one million have come to live (and many to work) in Britain. As you can imagine, and no doubt witnessed, the large influx of people over a short period of time has caused severe strain on our tax funded healthcare system, on our social welfare system, and caused a huge demand for more housing.
Many British people are justly uneasy about the character and culture of their cities, towns and villages being radically changed without them being asked or without giving their consent.
Please be assured that the UK Independence Party is completely opposed to all forms of racism and sectarianism. But this matter of mass immigration has nothing to do with race or religion, it simple economics. The UK cannot afford to accommodate every person who wishes to come. Polish is now the second most commonly spoken language in the UK.
I am sure Bulgarians love their country. How would your people feel if at the accession of, let's say, Turkey to the EU in the near future, one million Turkish migrants came to live in Bulgaria? Would the people of Bulgaria really be happy about that? Would you really be happy, that without your consent, one million migrants took advantage of your welfare and healthcare system at the expense of the Bulgarian taxpayer? I think not.
Much poorer country

If I simplify things and mistakenly say the monthly pension in Bulgaria is €100 or €138, it matters very little in the large scheme of things. When compared to many western parts of Europe, Bulgaria is a much poorer country. This is not an insult, as you suggest, but a fact. (We shall look at the reasons why Bulgaria is poor later.)
When there are open borders and large divergences in wealth and opportunities between two countries there is usually large-scale emigration. That is a simple fact and has certainly been the British experience post-2004. The naive or misleading politicians who said it would not happen before 2004 have been proved completely wrong.
In your letter you pass very quickly over very important issues. You wrote: "I understand our problems with our government, our law system, our education and healthcare systems."
I salute the Bulgarian people for throwing off the shackles of the oppressive Communist system and taking a new constitution in 1991. I say this as a good friend of Bulgarian people who wish their country to be prosperous and free.
I have been informed by Mr Binev that many "former Communists" still occupy top positions in your political system.
It is not I, but the European Commission, which has frequently criticised Bulgarian politicians for their corruption.
Franz-Herman Bruener, director-general of the EU's anti-fraud agency, Olaf, warned in a report that "influential forces within the Bulgarian government and or state agencies do not have an interest in seeing the punishment of anyone in the criminal gangs." (New York Times 15/10/2008)
The European Commission progress report on Bulgaria (18/7/2012) underlined the lack of convincing results on Sofia's efforts to stop high-level corruption and organised crime.
Fight against corruption

The European Commission said both Bulgaria and Romania had not produced convincing results in the areas of judicial reform, the fight against corruption and organised crime. It outlined that contract killings were still a major problem in your country.
The EU's policing agency Europol estimated the annual turnover of the 12 largest organised crime activities in Bulgaria is the equivalent of €1.8bn.
Another European Commission progress report in July 2010 said that public procurements in Bulgaria and Romania are dominated by "political favoritism," and that continuously changing rules are enabling corruption and conflicts of interest that are rarely followed up by law enforcement authorities, while police and judges themselves are often prone to bribes.
Because I want Bulgaria to be prosperous and free, I want to speak to you straight, as a good friend.
The reason that many Bulgarian people are poor is because they are made so by a corrupt political class who profit at the peoples' expense.
Bulgaria needs free speech

MEP Slavi Binev has told me that what Bulgaria needs to prosper is free speech, a free press, the freedom to set up and conduct a business without manipulation, an independent judiciary, and for politicians to stop buying people's votes with false promises. I agree with him entirely.
What mass emigration will mean for Bulgaria is a huge brain drain, when your bright and best educated young people will leave for Western Europe and your state will be the poorer for it.
Look at what has happened in other states such as Latvia where many towns have been drained of their lively and talented youth.
Mass emigration is bad for you, and it is bad for us in the UK.
It is quite normal and rational that many Bulgarian people wish for a better life, but mass emigration out of Bulgaria to the UK is not the answer. Putting an end to political corruption in your beloved country is.
Yours in solidarity and freedom

Panda wrote:

Keela wrote:The numbers of people going for swimming lessons will increase. it will have to as the population of the UK will sink under the weight of the immigrants coming in.

Yes Keela, yet Government does nothing.!!!!! Britain is a small Country , we are already overrun with Immigrants, thousands not accounted for. We should do like the Australians. They use an Island off the main coast to vet Immigrants and if they are found unsuitable they are flown back to whereever they came from.

In that case, I'm glad I don't live on the Isle of Wight

Angelina wrote:

Panda wrote:

Keela wrote:The numbers of people going for swimming lessons will increase. it will have to as the population of the UK will sink under the weight of the immigrants coming in.

Yes Keela, yet Government does nothing.!!!!! Britain is a small Country , we are already overrun with Immigrants, thousands not accounted for. We should do like the Australians. They use an Island off the main coast to vet Immigrants and if they are found unsuitable they are flown back to whereever they came from.

In that case, I'm glad I don't live on the Isle of Wight

It's true Angelina , and the Australians, as big a Country as they are, insist that any immigrants have a substantial amount of money, especially if they want to buy a House. Britain is too soft , we give aid to several foreign Countries whose Government doesn't spend it on their population.Even Miliband says Labour got it wrong on immigration!!!

Panda wrote:

Angelina wrote:

Panda wrote:

Keela wrote:The numbers of people going for swimming lessons will increase. it will have to as the population of the UK will sink under the weight of the immigrants coming in.

Yes Keela, yet Government does nothing.!!!!! Britain is a small Country , we are already overrun with Immigrants, thousands not accounted for. We should do like the Australians. They use an Island off the main coast to vet Immigrants and if they are found unsuitable they are flown back to whereever they came from.

In that case, I'm glad I don't live on the Isle of Wight

It's true Angelina , and the Australians, as big a Country as they are, insist that any immigrants have a substantial amount of money, especially if they want to buy a House. Britain is too soft , we give aid to several foreign Countries whose Government doesn't spend it on their population.Even Miliband says Labour got it wrong on immigration!!!

Yes I know and wasn't there something about Australia keeping them on ships because of the sheer number?? I know I read something about it but not sure where or whether it was just a possibility.

Angelina, yes, I remember reading that Australian speed boats patrol the Coast for any illegals trying to land. Britain is such a small Country it would have been easy to Patrol and all these illegals turned away.

I've given up caring now.


2014 to look forward to....most off the British would off immigrated to other countries, apart from me off course, I won't be a able to afford it.


2015....The NHS would off gone under, the immigrants will be flooding back to where they come from as the jobcenters would off gone bust and Gerry will be prime minister and Kate will be head off the Bank off England...


Roll on death.....

kitti wrote:I've given up caring now.


2014 to look forward to....most off the British would off immigrated to other countries, apart from me off course, I won't be a able to afford it.


2015....The NHS would off gone under, the immigrants will be flooding back to where they come from as the jobcenters would off gone bust and Gerry will be prime minister and Kate will be head off the Bank off England...


Roll on death.....

Cheerful soul kitti aren't you.!!! I'm glad I'm not growing up today.

I'll cheer you up.


My son went to do window cleaning today and he cleaned this women's windows outside and she asked him to clean inside too.

She had 59 cats.....my son said these cats were everywhere , he went upstairs to the bedroom and there they were ..10 to a bed , three bedrooms and every room there were cats sitting in the beds, on the windowsills, on the dressing tables ...everywhere.


He couldn't stand the smell anymore so he ran out tom get fresh air!!


He came home, threw his clothes in the washing machine and jumped in the bath.


He's still scratching now!!

kitti wrote:I'll cheer you up.


My son went to do window cleaning today and he cleaned this women's windows outside and she asked him to clean inside too.

She had 59 cats.....my son said these cats were everywhere , he went upstairs to the bedroom and there they were ..10 to a bed , three bedrooms and every room there were cats sitting in the beds, on the windowsills, on the dressing tables ...everywhere.


He couldn't stand the smell anymore so he ran out tom get fresh air!!


He came home, threw his clothes in the washing machine and jumped in the bath.


He's still scratching now!!

My sister used to live next door to a woman like that, although I don't think she had as many cats at that..only about 20. She kept them all indoors and put their poo in plastic bags in the bedrooms! She also put some bags in the garden and in the end all the neighbours complained to the council who came down and ordered her to clear it all.

Immigration: David Cameron urges Indians to come to 'welcoming' Britain



There is “no limit” on the number of Indian nationals who can come to
Britain to study and work, David Cameron has said.








Universities and colleges saw
the numbers of international students from India, Pakistan, Ireland and Poland
all fall last year. Photo:
ALAMY





By James Kirkup, Deputy
Political Editor

6:45PM GMT 13 Feb 2013

1233 Comments




The Prime Minister will next week visit India to tell prospective students
that Britain will be “incredibly welcoming” to them if they come to this country
to study and work.


Even as he promises voters to cap immigration and deter the arrival of people
from countries like Bulgaria and Romania, Mr Cameron will use his trip to try to
persuade more Indians to come to Britain.


University leaders and business groups say the Coalition’s tough rhetoric on
immigration is harming Britain’s international competitiveness, concerns that
are privately shared by some ministers.


Official figures earlier this year showed that the number of Indians studying
at British universities fell by a quarter last year, to 30,000.


In an interview with India’s Sunrise TV before his trip, Mr Cameron said he
wanted to make sure that Indians are not put off coming to the UK.



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“The fact is today, as we stand, and this is going to be the case going
forward, there is no limit on the number of students who can come from India to
study at British universities, no limit at all,” he said.

“All you need is a basic English qualification and a place at a British
university. And what’s more, after you’ve left a British university, if you can
get a graduate-level job there is no limit to the amount of people who can stay
and work, or the time that they can stay at work.”

The Coalition has set an annual cap on the number of non-Europeans who can
come to work in the UK, and the Conservatives have promised to reduced net
immigration to “tens of thousands” by the end of the Parliament.

Although there are annual limits on various groups of workers who are allowed
into the UK, a change in the cap made last year means that there is no ceiling
on the number of foreign graduates of British universities who can work here.


According to the Home Office, only foreign graduates earning at least £20,000
are permitted to stay in the UK. Officials insisted Mr Cameron’s words did not
mark a change in that policy.

Some ministers privately worry that the Coalition has failed to explain its
policies properly, something the Home Office has angrily denied.

However, Mr Cameron admitted that ministers have not been clear about
immigration, saying: “I think we haven’t perhaps communicated this properly.”


He added: “Now we need to take that message out to talented young people in
India and say if you want to make that choice, Britain will be incredibly
welcoming. Of course we have to control immigration in all its forms, as any
country would, but actually Britain’s got an amazing offer to make to students.


The Higher Education Statistics Authority says there were 29,900 Indian
students in the UK in 2011/12, down from 39,090 the previous year.

Mr Cameron said: “We have 40,000 Indian students in Britain, I’m really proud
of that, but the offer we’ve got – no limit on the numbers, no limit on how you
can work in graduate jobs afterwards – I think is a great offer to make.”

The Prime Minister’s message to prospective Indian arrivals in the UK
contrasts with his rhetoric on other would-be immigrants, particularly those
from eastern Europe. Citizens of Romania and Bulgaria will be able to work
freely in the UK next year, and some Conservatives fear a large influx of new
workers.

Mr Cameron earlier told MPs that British public services are too easily
available to such immigrants, promising a tougher approach.

He said: "There are many parts of our current arrangements which simply don't
pass a simple common sense test in terms of access to housing, access to the
health service, access to justice and other things which should be the right of
all British citizens but are not the right of anyone who just chooses to come
here."

To deter Bulgarians and Romanians from coming to the UK, ministers are
considering ways to restrict access to services like the NHS, social security
and public housing.

++++++++++++++++++++++++
IS CAMERON FOR REAL? There are many bogus student requests to enter Britain , Border Agency has 200,000 illegals lost in the system and 300,000 awaiting attention. Until Britain has control of Immigration I think only those with bona fide jobs to come to should be allowed.

Bulgarians and Romanians 'will reject hard work'


Bulgarians and Romanians will turn up their noses at fruit picking jobs
because the work is too hard, farmers fear, as the Government’s immigration
advisers say more workers may have to be brought in from outside the EU.








Bulgarian and Romanian farmers
fear an exodus of agricultural workers Photo: Paul
Grover





By Wesley Johnson, Home
Affairs Correspondent

1:17PM GMT 15 Feb 2013




The Migration Advisory Committee could also be asked to examine why some
employers are reluctant to employ Britons for lower-skilled jobs, preferring to
choose migrants instead.


Prof David Metcalf, the committee’s chairman, said he had seen no official
estimates of the number of Romanians and Bulgarians who are expected to head to
Britain at the end of the year when work restrictions are lifted.


However, a report in two months’ time will examine what will happen when
Romanians and Bulgarians get free access to the labour market.


“Who’s going to pick the strawberries?” he said.


Some 21,250 workers from the two countries currently pick fruit and
vegetables on farms in the UK for up to six months under the seasonal
agricultural workers scheme (Saws).



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Prof Metcalf said: “The question is, in 2014, when the Romanians and
Bulgarians get completely free access to the labour market, will they decide
that they would rather go to work in hotels, or pubs, or Tesco, and therefore
will there be enough people to pick the strawberries?

“Farmers are wanting a scheme from outside the EU at a time when we’ve got 25
million unemployed in the EU. It’s a difficult one.”

Asked if he had seen any estimates of how many Bulgarian and Romanian workers
are expected to come to the UK when the restrictions are lifted, he added: “I
can say hand on heart, not.

“My understanding is that the Foreign Office-commissioned report from the
National Institute (of Economic and Social Research) goes through a lot of
interesting economic stuff, but doesn’t have numbers.

“We haven’t been asked to do numbers, and I haven’t seen numbers.”

He added: “We might get asked to take a look at the lower skilled end of the
British labour market and in some senses why it is that there seems to be a
preference from some employers for EU workers instead of British workers.

“That would be wider than just the Bulgaria and Romania issue.”

Dr Scott Blinder, acting director of the Migration Observatory at the
University of Oxford, said: “It is understandable that people want to have some
certainty about what will happen when Romanian and Bulgarian workers have full
access to the UK labour market, but the truth is that nobody knows and that this
speculation does nothing to help the UK to prepare.

“Any efforts to develop policy around speculative figures would be a risky
gamble.”

Prof Metcalf’s comments came as the committee said proposals to automatically
remove medical, engineering, nuclear and education jobs from the “shortage
occupation list”, a group of important occupations that the British workforce
cannot fill, after they had been on it for more than two years would be
“disproportionate”.

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The week in picture









In Immigration




250,000 Bulgarians and Romanians 'to head to
UK'





White Britons a minority in Leicester, Luton and
Slough





£55m bill for 1,500 foreigners in jail






They say it's impossible to cut immigration.
They're wrong

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Up to one in three Romanians arrested, figures show


Up to one in three Romanian migrants have been arrested, figures have
showed, as the country ranked second in a list of foreigners held over serious
offences.









The Metropolitan Police deals
with around half of all crime committed in Britain by foreign
nationals Photo:
GETTY



By Wesley Johnson, Home
Affairs Correspondent

8:03PM GMT 26 Feb 2013




Some 27,725 Romanians were arrested for offences in London over the past five
years, Scotland Yard said, including 10 for murder and more than 140 for rape.



The figures, published under the Freedom of Information Act, will fuel fears
of a crime wave when restrictions on workers from Romania and Bulgaria are
lifted in January next year.


Romanians came second only to Poles, who accounted for 34,905 arrests,
including 84 for murder and almost 130 for rape.


However, there were some 587,000 migrants born in Poland living in the UK in
2011, estimates from the Office for National Statistics showed, compared with
87,000 Romanians.


Sir Andrew Green, chairman of the pressure group Migration Watch UK, said:
“The extent of this Romanian criminality is a real concern for the ending of all
immigration controls on Romanians and Bulgarians next year.”



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Lithuanians came third on the list, with 18,594 detained over the five-year
period, followed by Nigerians, with 15,600 arrests and Indians with 15,204
arrests.

The figures also showed some 2,887 Bulgarians were arrested in London over
the same period, including two for murder and 22 for rape.

The Metropolitan Police, Britain’s largest force, deals with around half of
all crime committed in Britain by foreign nationals and has set up Operation
Nexus to tackle the issue.

Speaking at the launch last November, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said
that in tackling foreign offenders, the force needed to be “as effective as we
are with the three quarters of offenders who are British, who we know more
about”.

“That requires better intelligence sharing and bringing them to justice
through an increased range of options,” he said.

The list of foreigners arrested between April 2008 and the end of December
last year showed the top 10-ranking countries was completed by Jamaica, with
14,072 arrests, Ireland (14,066), Somalia (10,688), Portugal (9,557) and
Pakistan (8,513).

France came 11th with 7,994 French nationals arrested in London over the past
five years, including seven for murder and 51 for rape.

Ed Miliband says low skilled immigration is 'too high'


Labour would cut the number of low-skilled immigrants coming to Britain and
force foreigners working for state services to learn English, Ed Miliband says
today.






































By Tim Ross, Political
Correspondent

9:53AM GMT 06 Mar 2013


660 Comments




The Labour leader admits that Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were “wrong” in
government to dismiss the concerns of the public over levels of migration that
were “too high”.


While there is “nothing wrong” with employing foreign staff, some companies
recruit from overseas to undercut the wages of British-born workers, Mr Miliband
says.


His comments, in a new party political broadcast to be aired tonight, mark
the first time he has said the number of low-skilled migrants entering the UK
must be cut.


The statement will be seen as a significant attempt to reposition Labour in
light of the surge in support for Ukip, the right-wing anti-European party, in
recent months.


“I believe that diversity is good for Britain but it's got to be made to work
for all and not just for some,” the Labour leader says. “That means everybody
taking responsibility, everybody playing their part and contributing to the
country.”



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During the 2010 election, Mr Brown had to apologise after he was overheard
describing one pensioner who raised concerns over immigration as a “bigoted
woman”.

Gillian Duffy confronted the then Prime Minister on camera during his
campaign visit to Rochdale, Lancs. Mr Brown’s private frustration was broadcast
to the world after he stepped into his car while his microphone was still live.


David Cameron has set a target to cut net migration to the “tens of
thousands”. However, in his broadcast, Mr Miliband suggests that limits must
apply only to workers with low levels of training.

“Low-skill migration has been too high and we need to bring it down,” the
Labour leader says.

This will mean “maximum controls” for eastern Europeans entering the European
Union and “properly enforcing the minimum wage so people aren’t brought here to
undercut workers already here”.

Mr Miliband again draws on his personal family history, telling viewers that
his father, the Marxist academic Ralph Miliband, studied English after he fled
the Nazis for Britain.

Anyone working in a government-funded job in which they face the public
should “be able to speak English”, he says.

A Tory source said Mr Miliband’s plans were “not credible”.

“They presided over a chaotic immigration system which saw over 2.2 million
people, the size of Birmingham, come into the UK. They can't be trusted with our
immigration system,” the source said.

“It is appalling that they still refuse to apologise to the British public
for allowing immigration to get out of control.”
===========================
Labour were responsible for the come one come all immigration policy , but now UKIP have stolen a march with their immigration policy , Miliband and Cameron are jumping on the bandwagon , It really is pathetic.