Germany and France have joined David Cameron in announcing new welfare curbs on EU migrants, fuelling tensions ahead of a summit on eastern European issues in Lithuania on Thursday, reports The Financial Times.
Berlin and Paris share Mr Cameron’s fears that a wave of migration by Romanian and Bulgarian workers next year could boost support for populist, right-wing parties in next year’s European parliament elections.
Angela Merkel’s new grand coalition on Wednesday committed to a crackdown on “unjust claims of social security benefits” to reduce incentives for migration, while France demanded tougher controls on temporary cross-border workers.
The issue of migration will hang over an EU meeting in Vilnius, at which Mr Cameron will explain his plan for a comprehensive overhaul of migration policy - first set out in an article for the Financial Times on Wednesday.
Mr Cameron’s plan to place limits on migration has been criticised in eastern Europe and drew warnings from Laszlo Andor, EU employment commissioner, that Britian risked being seen as a “nasty country”.
Paris and Berlin do not support Mr Cameron’s ambition to unpick the EU’s treaty-enshrined right to free movement across the bloc. But Downing St drew comfort from the fact that Ms Merkel’s new coalition agreement proposes restrictions on benefit claims by migrant workers, saying that “migration due to poverty” was causing social problems in some cities.
François Hollande’s socialist government in Paris said on Wednesday it was taking steps to crackdown on what it called abuse of EU rules governing the temporary employment of workers from other countries.
The issue has been picked up France’s far right National Front, which polls show could come top in next May’s European elections; the UK Independence party is also expected to do well in Britain, with its focus on migration.
Read more of this report from The Financial Times.