Brussels, 15/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - According to a report in the Financial Times on Tuesday 14 January, British Prime Minister David Cameron has had to postpone the presentation of a report supporting his intentions to introduce future restrictions on welfare benefits paid to European migrants. According to the FT, Home Secretary Theresa May has failed to provide evidence of social security abuses being committed by EU nationals, particularly those from new member states.
According to the British newspaper, on Tuesday 14 January, the government found itself in a difficult position when chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility Robert Chote indicated that the budgetary situation of the country would be worse if the net level of immigration were lower, because immigrants are more likely to be of working age. Presentation of the report has been pushed back until after the European elections and is expected to be published around 21 February.
Speaking during a debate on Wednesday in Strasbourg (see other article) on the free movement of workers, British MEP, Sarah Ludford (ALDE), claimed that this report would be ditched by the Conservative prime minister because it was too “positive” about free movement. Addressing directly the Conservative ECR Group at the EP, she found an ally in Timothy Kirkhope, her Conservative compatriot, who also called on the British government to publish this now famous report, no matter what it said. (SP/transl.fl)