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Britain could be forced to take in more refugees under EU plans to 'harmonise' the asylum seeker system. A universal criteria for accepting asylum claims could see the UK lose the ability to decide who enters the country - the leader of the Conservative MEP group, Tim Kirkhope, said Britain "stands to loose its central pillar of its sovereignty." The "final building blocks" are in place, according to EU officials who claim the plans would "eliminate differences" and unfair treatment. Just yesterday the Office for National Statistics predicted a rise in the UK population to 71.6 million by 2033 - 162,630 people were granted settlement rights in the 12 months to the end of last June, a rise of nine per cent compared with the previous year.
"Share the burden"
Each country would be forced to "share the burden" - meaning larger countries, like the UK would have to take in more refugees, regardless of where they make their claim. Under EU law an asylum case can only be heard in the "first safe country" a refugee arrives in to prevent applicants 'shopping around' for the best deal, i.e. benefits. Smaller nations, like Malta, have struggled to cope with the wave of migrants arriving from North Africa. The deal also aims to cut application times down to six months - currently some EU states can process an asylum claim in weeks, others almost a year. Jacques Barrot, the European Commission’s justice commissioner, says the proposals would guarantee that claims would have the same chance of being accepted or rejected in all EU states.
Immigration will add 7 million to population
Immigration is set to add almost 7 million people to the UK population in the next 25 years, according to the ONS Sir Andrew Green, chairman of think tank MigrationwatchUK, said: "The Government is in denial about the impact of immigration on our population growth." UKIP said mainstream parties could no longer pretend they "have control over our borders." Immigration Minister, Phil Woolas, moved to calm any fears the UK would loose sovereignty on who can enter the country, saying the government was applying a "very cautious attitude" and the proposals would be "studied very carefully." Taking the volatile asylum issue out of UK politics and constraining policy to EU law would be a welcome relief to ministers struggling to hear new claims, clear backlogs and deport failed applicants.
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