On the first day of 2014, the UK, along with a number of other Western European countries, officially opened its proverbial doors for immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania. Yet, while the doors may be open, there are persistent questions as to whether the UK is ready and capable of handling new immigrants. In order to best understand these worries, past British experience with the EU needs to be examined.
Previously, when the UK started becoming involved in the process of European integration, there was little need for concern about immigration, as all member countries had a similarly high standard of living. All of this changed with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, which saw the first major EU encroachment into the poorer states of Eastern Europe. Being accepted into the EU in 2004, countries such as Poland and the Baltic republics were quick to take advantage of the newly granted freedom of mobility within the EU. The UK, however, has grossly underestimated this desire to immigrate and was ill-prepared to deal with both the influx of people and the immediate strain on social programs. Perhaps it can best be summed up by Conservative Party MP Nigel Mills, who stated, “We had forecast 13,000 coming and more like a million came. It was pretty disastrous.”
Vowing not to repeat the same mistakes with soon-to-be members Bulgaria and Romania, the UK set about making changes to its immigration policies. These policies included:
- Implementing – along with other economic powers in the EU – a 7-year waiting period between EU accession and open immigration.
- Passing tougher immigration requirements for non-EU immigrants, in order to offset any EU-based increase.
- Restricting access to some social services, such as receiving unemployment benefits for the first 3 months after arrival, health services, and being added to housing lists.
Regardless of these restrictions, which should serve to make it tougher on the incoming Bulgarians and Romanians, Migration Watch UK is still anticipating the arrival of 50,000 Romanians and Bulgarians per year for the next 5 years, with 70% expected to join the workforce and the remained expected to take up studying. Given, that the per capita income in the UK is 4-5 times higher than Romania and Bulgaria, these immigrants can hardly be faulted for wanting to seek a better life. However, for the UK nationals as well as the already established new immigrants (e.g. the Poles and Lithuanians), there is a risk that this further influx could stretch already taxed resources, disrupt social cohesion, and lead to an increase in crime.
Due to the fact that, since they are officially members of the EU, the UK cannot do anything directly to restrict the new waves of immigration, perhaps the best alternative is to aid them in adjusting to the “local” way of life. For example, connecting with them in their own language and teaching them how to best integrate with British society could aid in their assimilation and go far in reducing the number of disaffected immigrants who would potentially resort to crime. Edward Vick, EVS Translations: “With tight budgets, it may not be viable to implement a project like this nationwide. However, subcontracting with an experienced and affordable translation company in specific areas of high immigration could potentially go a long way in making the process more acceptable and a lot less painful.”
And let us not forget that most migrants work hard and boost the Britain’s economy. They create links with their home countries and help the cultural and economic exchange.
And as the saying goes, if a foreigner who is not proficient in the local language can come and “steal” one’s job – then it is not the migrant or the system to blame.
