This is what European countries have sold themselves into, slavery, headed by a statist oligarchy of neo-aristocrats who dictate to us how society should be managed.
Migrant welfare crackdown is illegal, Brussels tells PM: Statement says ‘minimum earning threshold’ is not compatible with EU law
- David Cameron wants to stem the tide of benefit tourism by requiring EU migrants to earn £149 a week for three months before they can claim
- From March 1, European migrants would have to demonstrate they have done this in order to qualify for ‘worker’ status
By DANIEL MARTIN
PUBLISHED: 00:29 GMT, 20 February 2014 | UPDATED: 01:36 GMT, 20 February 2014
A new war with Brussels looms after the Government was warned its plans to crack down on benefit tourism are almost certainly illegal.
David Cameron wants to stem the tide by requiring EU migrants to earn £149 a week for three months before they can claim welfare.
From March 1, European migrants would have to demonstrate they have earned £149 a week for three months in order to qualify for ‘worker’ status, which opens the door to more generous benefits.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said current European Union case law meant the ‘worker’ category was too broad and potentially open to some who did very little work.
In a statement yesterday, however, the European Commission said existing case law of EU courts suggests that the ‘minimum earnings threshold’ is illegal, claiming that defining a worker ‘according to the amount he or she earns is not compatible with EU law’.
Backbench Tory MPs lambasted the Commission last night, saying the only way to tackle benefit tourism and retake control of our borders was to leave the EU.
Douglas Carswell, Tory MP for Clacton, said: ‘Until we have left the EU, we cannot meaningfully restrict access to benefits.
‘The most our elected government can do is promise to seek permission from the Eurocrats. We need out.’
Under the new restrictions, which were announced yesterday, people who are classed as workers are able to claim child benefit, child tax credit and housing benefit, as well as jobseeker’s allowance if they lose their employment.
The threshold will be set at the level at which people start paying national insurance – £149 a week in 2013/14, and £153 in 2014/15.
