LONDON -- A fundamental principle of the European Union has been freedom of movement within it and the right to work in any member country. This principle has, however, been undermined by the decision of some EU founder states to limit immigration from the new member countries in Eastern Europe for varying transitional periods, as permitted under the accession treaties.

These derogations are being justified on the grounds that migrants presumably will be willing to take jobs at wages lower than those enjoyed by nationals of the member state to which they are moving and will thus exacerbate existing unemployment problems.

The British government seems at first to have ignored the issue, but the Conservative Party opposition and the tabloid press have argued that there would be large numbers of migrants who would come to Britain to seek benefits under the allegedly generous British welfare system. (In fact, British welfare arrangements are not as generous as in many other EU states, and claimants have to go through complicated bureaucratic procedures). Under pressure, the government decided that migrants from the new member states would not be able to claim benefits until they had worked in Britain for a substantial period.