UK Petition against Bulgarians, Romanians Gains Steam

The official stance of the UK government is that the labor restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians will be lifted from January 1, 2014. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Over 100 000 Britons have urged Prime Minister David Cameron to extend labor market restrictions for Romanian and Bulgarian workers beyond January 1, 2014.

The e-petition for Downing Street was receiving up to 1,000 signatures an hour on Thursday, according to the Daily Star.

According to the British tabloid, "experts predict that 350,000 people will head to the UK when work restrictions for the two countries are lifted next year."

The petition, which so far has 115,000 supporters, enough to trigger a House of Commons debate, calls for those barriers to be extended for a further five years.

The requested move, however, is virtually impossible.

January 1, 2014, is the expiration date of the seven-year transition period after Bulgaria and Romania's EU accession, in which the other EU member states could limit Bulgarians and Romanians' access to their labor markets.

No EU member state can unilaterally extend the existing labor market restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians beyond the end of 2013.

Controversial claims have been made by a number of British tabloids and politicians that the UK should brace for a massive"influx" of Bulgarian and Romanian migrants after the end of 2013. It has been claimed that lifting the restriction would "put pressure" on housing, infrastructure, schools, and heath care.

The official stance of the UK government is that the labor restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians will be lifted from January 1, 2014.

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