Eastern European workers benefit the UK
Referring to the issues of whether workers from Bulgaria and Romania should be permitted to work in the UK when those countries are admitted to the European Union, Business for New Europe issued the following statement:
“Immigration has been a great source of wealth and creativity for the UK economy, both in the course of its history and more recently, such as in 2004 when workers from Eastern Europe came to the UK.
The UK has benefited from being one of only three member states which immediately opened its labour market to Eastern European workers. In fact, some member states, which did not immediately open their door, have reversed their policies to allow workers in from Eastern Europe.
There are extremely strong arguments for opening our labour market to workers from Bulgaria and Romania. The free movement of workers is, after all, one of the pillars of the European single market. The prospect of further migration from Eastern Europe which triggers economic growth is a cause for celebration not cowardice.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. BNE’s aim is to support the UK’s active engagement in Europe, and a reformed, enlarged
and free-market EU.
2. BNE’s principles are as follows:
• We support the UK’s membership of the EU and oppose withdrawal to the margins;
• We support positive and constructive engagement with the EU as the only sensible
approach and as vital to our national interests.
• We support a vision of a prosperous free-market Europe able to compete in
a globalised world.
• We support economic liberalisation and oppose excessive EU regulation,
centralisation and red tape.
• We support institutional reform, further cooperation between EU
member states where it is in Britain's interests and oppose old-fashioned federalism.
• We support the enlargement of the EU including Turkey, and recognise the benefits
that the recent wave of enlargement have brought.
3. BNE’s Advisory Council consists of:
Leon Brittan (Vice Chairman, UBS)
Roger Carr (Chairman, Centrica)
Richard Cousins (CEO, Compass)
Guy Dawson (Founding Partner, Tricorn Partners)
Charles Dunstone (CEO, Carphone Warehouse)
Niall FitzGerald (Chairman, Reuters)
Chris Gibson-Smith (Chairman, London Stock Exchange)
Philip Hampton (Chairman, Sainsbury)
David Levin (CEO, United Business Media)
John Parker (Chairman, National Grid)
Vijay Patel (CEO, Waymade Healthcare)
Stuart Popham (Senior Partner, Clifford Chance)
Mike Rake (Chairman, KPMG International)
Nigel Rudd (Chairman, Boots)
Bryan Sanderson (Chairman, Standard Chartered)
Martin Sorrell (CEO, WPP)
Peter Sutherland (Chairman, BP)
Rosemary Thorne (Finance Director, Ladbrokes)
Christopher Tugendhat (Chairman - European Advisory Board, Lehman Brothers)
Bob Wigley (Chairman - Europe, Middle East & Africa, Merrill Lynch)
4. BNE is run on a day-to-day basis by Zaki Cooper (Director), whom is supported by
Roland Rudd (Chairman) and Sir Stephen Wall (Vice-Chairman).
5. For further information about Business for New Europe, see www.bnegroup.org or contact
+44 (0) 207 256 6575, +44 (0) 7787 513 864 press@bnegroup.org
