Poles in UK may have benefits curbed if EU-UK deal goes through
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
02.02.2016 14:35
European Council President Donald Tusk has published a draft EU renegotiation plan for the UK which could see migrants in the country, including Poles, having an “emergency brake” put on some social benefits.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (R) meets the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk (L), on the steps of No. 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, 31 January 2016. Photo: EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA
“The draft decision […] notes, in particular, the Commission's intention to propose changes to EU legislation as regards the export of child benefits and the creation of a safeguard mechanism to respond to exceptional situations of inflow of workers from other member states,” reads a letter by Tusk to all EU member states.
It appears that migrants in Britain would not be able to send full child benefits back to their home country, as some of them used to do, Jakub Krupa, London correspondent for the Polish PAP news agency, told Radio Poland.
“[As explained in the latest plan] they will be able to send some child benefits, but they will be ‘index-linked’, meaning that the value will be much lower than it is at the moment,” Krupa said.
“But in general terms, those Poles who are already in the UK won’t see any major changes in their status,” Krupa said, adding that some earlier reports that migrants will have to apply for UK citizenship to avoid any changes to their current status in the country is “just wrong”.
However, those who are planning to go to the UK might see some changes in the first few years after arrival. “The new deal includes an ‘emergency brake’ mechanism which we understand the UK would like to launch immediately after finalising the negotiations,” the PAP correspondent said.
Hard work ahead
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said following the decision on Tuesday: “At the beginning of this process we set out the four areas where we wanted to see substantial change, and this document delivers that substantial change, but of course, there are still details to be worked on.
“There are important things to be secured, there’s further work to be done. And of course there’s a negotiation at the European Council [...] but I think we made real progress.”
Recently, the foreign ministers of Poland and the UK took part in talks in the Scottish capital, with Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond arguing that trimming benefits could sway the vote in an upcoming referendum on whether Britain should stay in the EU.
The UK government wants immigrants to “live here and contribute for four years” before they receive benefits, Hammond said. (rg/pk)
Read the complete letter below: