The Italian prime minister has warned against a fortress mentality in the debate over European immigration, as the Guardian published new data showing tens of thousands of British migrants are claiming unemployment benefits in other EU countries. Matteo Renzi, the Italian leader who has argued it would be a disaster if Britain left the EU, suggested defensiveness about freedom of movement led to nowhere apart from opening the door to “right-wing xenophobia and nationalism” in Europe. Renzi made the remarks when asked about his views on EU migration ahead of the publication of a new analysis showing at least 30,000 British nationals are claiming unemployment benefit in other member states. Speaking just before the terrorist attack in Paris, Renzi told the Guardian, which translated his comments: “The logic of a fortress under siege leads nowhere and in fact, on the contrary, has so far been the key that has opened the door to right-wing xenophobia and nationalism in Europe. We need responsibility, safeguards, controls, collaboration, and rights and obligations – as Europe has always been capable of showing in its best moments.” The Guardian’s research, based on responses from 23 of the 27 other EU countries, found about 2.5% of Britons in other EU countries are claiming unemployment benefits. This is about the same level as the roughly 65,000 EU nationals claiming jobseeker’s allowance in the UK. The data reveals that unemployed Britons in Europe are drawing more benefits in nine of the wealthier EU countries than their nationals are claiming in the UK. In Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, France and Ireland the number of Britons banking unemployment cheques is almost three times as high as the nationals of those countries receiving parallel UK benefits – 23,011 Britons to 8,720 nationals of those nine countries in the UK. Four times as many Britons obtain unemployment benefits in Germany as Germans do in the UK, while the number of jobless Britons receiving benefits in Ireland exceeds their Irish counterparts in the UK by a rate of five to one. There are not only far more Britons drawing benefits in these countries than vice versa, but frequently the benefits elsewhere in Europe are much more generous than in the UK. For example, a Briton in France receives more than three times as much as a jobless French person in the UK. Responding to the research, Downing Street said on Monday that any curbs on EU benefits would be “reciprocal” so changes would apply equally to Brits living in EU countries as EU nationals living in the UK. Commenting on the Guardian findings, the EU commissioner for justice, consumers and gender equality, Vĕra Jourová, said: “Free movement of people is at the core of having a strong single market and it benefits our economy and society. Abuse weakens free movement. Therefore, member states need to tackle abuse decisively where it happens.” theguardian/uk-news/2015/jan/19/fortress-mentality-european-migration-creates-xenophobia-italian-pm-matteo-renzi
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 00:02:27 +0000
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