Migrants from other EU member states are putting ‘considerable strain’ on schools, healthcare and the welfare state, Britain and Germany have warned in an unprecedented joint statement.
They joined Austria and the Netherlands in demanding an end to rampant abuse by benefit tourists of the EU’s free movement directive.
The call comes before citizens of Romania and Bulgaria are granted free access to the EU jobs market and benefit system on January 1 next year.
Home Secretary Theresa May has persuaded the countries to campaign with Britain for tighter restrictions on migrants’ access to handouts and other services.
Last night, the countries sent a joint letter to the Council of the European Union, arguing that the free movement directive – a founding principle of the EU – must not be ‘unconditional’.
The letter, which calls for action at a meeting of the EU’s justice and home affairs council in June, warns that some towns and cities ‘are under a considerable strain by certain immigrants from other member states’.
It adds: ‘These immigrants avail themselves of the opportunities that freedom of movement provides, without, however, fulfilling the requirements for exercising this right.
'This type of immigration burdens the host societies with considerable additional costs, in particular caused by the provision of schooling, health care and adequate accommodation.’
The four countries also want to make it harder for citizens of other member states to gain access to benefits within days or weeks of arriving in a member state.
Britain has long sought changes to the rules on entitlement to welfare but its chances of success were limited while it remained a lone voice in Brussels. That Germany, in particular, has joined the campaign will place huge pressure on other member states to come to an agreement on tightening the rules.
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The letter was sent to Alan Shatter, president of the justice and home affairs council, and was signed by Mrs May, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, Austria’s federal minister of the interior; Dr Hans Peter Friedrich, Germany’s federal minister of the interior, and Fred Teeven, minister for immigration in The Netherlands.
The free movement directive says that all 500million citizens of the EU should be free to enter any member state, with only the most minor of border controls.
Last night, the countries sent a joint letter to the Council of the European Union, arguing that the free movement directive must not be 'unconditional'. It was sent to Alan Shatter, president of the justice and home affairs council
But the letter says that abuse of the directive is having a negative effect on some states with its burden on benefits, schools and healthcare.
It continues: ‘On top of this strain on vital local services, a significant number of new immigrants draw social assistance in the host countries, frequently without a genuine entitlement, burdening the host countries’ social welfare systems.’
The letter added that the signatories wanted to stop migrants ‘who have only recently arrived in a member state and have never been employed or paid taxes there to claim the same social security benefits as that of member state’s own citizens’.
They also want a crackdown on migrants from outside the EU who marry an EU citizen in order to gain access to state handouts.
The letter states: ‘All necessary measures need to be taken to deal with the consequences of this type of immigration and to fight its causes. This includes legal as well as financial measures.’
Last month, David Cameron said he was determined to end Britain’s ‘soft touch’ reputation on immigration and welfare.
From next year, arrivals from the EU will be stripped of jobseekers’ benefits after six months unless they can prove they have been actively looking for a job and stand a ‘genuine chance’ of finding one.
LABOUR MP BRANDED 'XENOPHOBIC' AFTER COMMENTS ON IMMIGRATION
A Labour frontbencher was accused of being ‘xenophobic’ after saying ‘it would be nice to see a British hotel receptionist’.
While discussing immigration, Chris Bryant said many employers ‘do not bother’ hiring Britons, leaving locals in his Rhondda constituency feeling ‘undercut’.
Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi said: ‘Labour have gone from an ‘open-door’ policy to cynically peddling xenophobic rhetoric.’
Last night Mr Bryant said: ‘I made no anti-immigrant comments... the [hospitality] industry has failed to train and upskill local workforce.’