Britain said on Tuesday it would restrict the influx of migrant workers from Bulgaria and Romania after they join the European Union in January in a shift from the open-door policy adopted towards other eastern Europeans, REPORTED REUTERS. The controls, which will be reviewed annually, seek to curb numbers of low-skilled immigrants and respond to public concern about a flood of foreign workers who undercut locals following the EU's enlargement in 2004. "The UK will maintain controls on Romania and Bulgaria's access to jobs for a transitional period," the Home Office (Interior Ministry) said in a statement. Low-skilled workers will be restricted to the food-processing and agriculture sectors under a quota system while workers with specialist skills must prove they are doing jobs that cannot be filled by residents, the statement said. The move comes after the British government grossly underestimated the number of eastern European workers coming to Britain following the EU's enlargement. Many other EU states are expected to impose similar controls on Bulgarian and Romanian workers.
