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European Affairs

First, the Government did not make a prediction. [Interruption.] No, the Government did not make a prediction. Someone at, I think, the London School of Economics or an independent group or organisation made a prediction, but I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the Government themselves made no such prediction. Secondly, most people who have come to this country have come to work, and they are in employment. They have not all stayed, and they will not necessarily stay in the long term. That pattern has emerged not just in this country but elsewhere as a result of enlargement. As for Romania and Bulgaria, the hon. Gentleman will know that the Government have put in place processes to try to control the flow of people into the work force. That is not to suggest that enlargement is automatically an easy process. Romania and Bulgaria still have some way to go in strengthening the rule of law and in tackling corruption and organised crime. Indeed, the process of enlarging the EU to include those two countries, as well as the 10 new member states that joined in 2004, has led to a refinement and tightening-up of procedures. The requirements to join the EU are more rigorous and more carefully monitored than ever before, and they apply to Turkey and Croatia. Effective conditionality is one thing, but fresh conditions are something altogether different. Having agreed membership requirements and invited people down that path, it would be quite wrong to put up new hurdles or to deliberately construct barriers designed to halt this or any further enlargement. The strategic case for enlarging the EU to include the candidate countries and to keep the door open for other European neighbours remains as powerful as ever.