Theresa May targets ‘broken European migration system’

Writing in the Sunday Times the home secretary said the annual figures of net migration were “far too high” and were “simply unsustainable”.

Earlier this week official data that showed net migration in Britain had a reached a record high of 333,000.

She specifically targeted migrants from the EU saying it had more than doubled since 2010 and it must be dealt with if the UK is to hit its migration targets.

Mrs May said: “Reducing net EU migration need not mean undermining the principle of free movement.

“When it was first enshrined, free movement meant the freedom to move to a job, not the freedom to cross borders to look for work or claim benefits.”

She said the only way to bring migration figures down was to change the system to prevent people moving across countries without jobs lined up.

“If we want to control immigration – and bring it down to the tens of thousands – we must take some big decisions, face down powerful interests and reinstate the original principle underlying free movement within the EU.”

She claims that last year “four out of 10 EU migrants, 63,000 people, came here with no definite job whatsoever.”

‘Borderless Europe’ worsening migration crisis

She also blamed the “European system of no borders” for exacerbating the migration crisis which has dominated Europe this summer.

“This is a wake-up call for the EU. Its leaders must consider the consequences of uncontrolled migration – on wages, jobs and social cohesion of the destination nations; on the economies and societies of the rest; and on the lives and welfare of those who seek to come here,” she said.

Unprecedented numbers of migrants are reaching EU borders, surpassing 100,000 in July alone.

Italy and Greece are struggling to cope with the daily influx of migrants and refugees, while Macedonia has declared a state of emergency.

However John Cridland, director general of the CBI said the UK relies heavily upon EU migrant workers and businesses would suffer if migrants had to be recruited whilst outside the UK.

“We’d be concerned if EU workers had to be hired for a job before coming to the UK though, as this would cause issues for firms without the capacity to advertise and recruit across the whole of Europe.”

“The evidence shows that the vast majority of people coming from the EU to the UK come to work and benefit our economy.

“Our hospitals and care homes couldn’t function without overseas workers; building sites that we need to deliver more homes and big infrastructure projects would also stall, for example.

“But the system must be about freedom to work, not for the minority who do not contribute, so the government should continue to work with our European partners to make sure the rules are fit for purpose for everyone.