Tony Blair defends call for EU migration curbs
10 Sep 2017 4:24 PM GMT
London: Britain's former prime minister Tony Blair on Sunday called for stricter controls on migration from within the European Union (EU) to avoid the country having to completely split from the economic bloc.
The Labour leader, under whose leadership the UK is seen as having opened its doors to migration from around the world in the 1990s, said the times have changed.
Writing in 'The Sunday Times', Blair acknowledged that he has changed his mind since his government had chosen not to invoke transitional controls on migrants from newer EU members from eastern Europe, unlike most other countries within the union.
He writes: "My government in 2004 did not invoke the transitional arrangements when eastern Europe joined the EU. Back then the economy was strong, the workers were needed and actually the biggest annual numbers came post-2011.
"But the real point is that the times were different; the sentiment was different; and intelligent politics takes account of such change." Blair's Institute for Global Change has released a report that says EU nationals should already have an offer of work when they arrive in the UK.
Those who didn't earn permission to stay would be banned from opening a bank account, renting a home or claiming benefits.
Under existing rules, citizens of other EU countries can be removed after six months if they have not found a job, have no realistic possibility of finding one, and require support from the UK's welfare system.
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