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thomas davison

Brussels takes UK to court to challenge rules which stop everyone in the EU from claiming benefits

European Commission think British regulations break EU rules
Britain requires people to be formal residents of UK to claim state handouts
If Brussels gets its way, will cost UK hundreds of millions pounds a year
Government source warned: 'Anyone who gets off a plane will be able to start claiming benefits immediately'

By Tim Shipman, Deputy Political Editor and Matt Chorley

PUBLISHED: 01:58, 30 May 2013 | UPDATED: 08:30, 30 May 2013

Brussels is set to launch legal action against Britain today over its attempts to tackle benefits tourism.

The European Commission wants to relax the rules on welfare payments to EU nationals. Since 2004, Britain has required them to be formal residents of the UK in order to claim state handouts � but the Commission thinks this breaks EU rules.

But the idea of Brussels dictating who Britain must pay benefits to was branded 'costly, unwelcome and undemocratic'.
UK border

A government source warned if Brussels wins 'anyone who gets off a plane will be able to start claiming benefits immediately'

If European officials get their way, the UK would have to pay hundreds of millions of pounds a year to EU nationals who visit Britain.

�Anyone who gets off a plane will be able to start claiming benefits immediately,� a government source warned.

The case will further test relations between Britain and Brussels, already strained by David Cameron�s promise to hold an in-out referendum by 2018.

Camerloon is a dimwit time he and his government were gone.

The meddling of unelected figures in UK immigration rules is also likely to provoke public fury.

Peter Lilley, the former Tory Social Security Secretary who introduced residency test in 1994, warned the Commission against trying to interfere in British affairs.

'This is an example of the Commission trying to extend its power to cover social security which is outside the competence of the European Union.

'We are not alone in Europe in objecting to this. Lots of other countries have their own rules to ensure benefits are there for people who are citizens in the country or are long-term residents,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

'To extend it to others would be costly, unwelcome, undemocratic and not approved by Parliament. I hope that we will strongly resist this.'

Stephen Booth of think-tank Open Europe said: �If this were to happen it would be throwing a political hand-grenade into two hugely controversial political debates, Europe and immigration, which certainly aren�t needed at this time.�

The case, which concerns many of the working-age benefits, including child tax credits, would also cast doubt over whether the Coalition would be able to proceed with the tougher measures it has prepared.
European Commission says British welfare regulations breaks EU rules

European Commission says British welfare regulations breaks EU rules

Ministers have announced plans to charge EU migrants for using the NHS and restrict their access to legal aid. They are also considering plans to restrict payments if migrants do not find work. However, the EC believes that even the current test of a �right to reside� before migrants receive benefits is discriminatory.

It is today expected to launch a so-called �infraction� procedure against the UK, which will lead to a court case.

A senior government source stressed that the Coalition plans to fight the claim all the way.

�We are expecting the worst,� they said. �We will fight this all the way to the European Court of Justice.�

Britain is expected to win support from Germany, the Netherlands and Austria. The Home Secretary, Theresa May, signed a letter with her counterparts from those countries last month, arguing that sanctions to prevent benefits tourism are too lax.

It also warned that the rules were undermining public confidence in the EU.

There is no confidence in the EU and while tweedle dum and tweedle dee do nothing as usual our country fills up with immigrants and muslims.

If the EU dictate that these benefits should be paid then the EU should fund them, not the UK taxpayer. Or take the money out of the millions of pounds per day that we hand over. Or just maybe the EU hierarchy want us to leave and are doing all they can to increase support for UKIP