600,000 unemployed EU citizens living in Britain at a cost of £1.5billion to the NHS
- The study will be published this week by the European Commission
- Number of EU migrants rose by 42 per cent between 2006 and 2012
- European Commissioner wants to make it easier for EU migrants to claim benefits in the UK
By Tara Brady, PUBLISHED: 10:13 GMT, 13 October 2013 | UPDATED: 11:41 GMT, 13 October 2013, Source
More than 600,000 unemployed EU citizens are living in Britain at a cost of £1.5billion to the NHS according to a new report.
The 291-page study will be published this week by the European Commission and shows the number of European migrants who have moved to the UK but do not have jobs has risen in five years.
According to The Sunday Telegraph, the study says the number of non-active EU migrants in Britain rose by 42 per cent between 2006 and 2012.
However, the 611,779 migrants who were living in Britain last year cost the NHS about £1.5billion.
It is believed the European commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion, Laszlo Ando, who ordered the report, is planning to bring a case to court which would make it easier for migrants to claim benefits in the UK.
The Department for Work and Pensions has said if successful, it would make the UK a more popular place for migrants to live where they can claim benefits easier.
Conservative backbencher Douglas Carswell told The Sunday Telegraph: 'These figures show that the wave of benefit migrants has become a tsunami of economic refugees fleeing the eurozone crisis to try and find jobs here.
'We cannot both continue the free-at-the-point-of-use welfare state and benefits system and allow Europeans to flee the eurozone and come here.'
The number of unemployed EU citizens who have moved to Britain for work has risen by 73 per cent in the past three years, according to the report.
The report blames economic difficulties in eastern Europe, Greece and Portugal for the rise.
The number of unemployed EU citizens who have moved to Britain for work has risen by 73 per cent in the past three years, according to the report
A DWP spokeswoman said: 'We have strict rules in place to protect the integrity of the British benefits system and make sure it is not abused.
'But we are also going further by strengthening the Habitual Residence Test and time-limiting how long some migrants can claim benefits.
'Ministers are also working with their counterparts across Europe to address concerns about the abuse of free movement.
'It is important to ensure a fair system which provides support for genuine workers and jobseekers, but doesn’t allow people to come to this country and take advantage.'
