The decision to deny EU immigrants to the UK access to welfare benefits for three months after they arrive is legal, British prime minister David Cameron has insisted.
The measure was to have come into force during the course of next year but it has been brought forward to January 1st, due to mounting fears about Bulgarian and Romanian immigrants.
From January 1st, nationals from both countries will be able to live and work anywhere in the EU – a prospect that has led to near-panic in some quarters in Britain.
In the House of Commons, Mr Cameron insisted the accelerated action had been taken “on the basis of legal action, and looking carefully at what other countries in the EU do”.
"There is a right to work in different countries of the EU, but there should not be a right to claim in different countries of the EU," he told Conservative MP Philip Davies.
EU law
For now, the European Commission is staying silent in the face of the latest British move, unwilling to say whether the action is legal under EU law. Member states are entitled to bar citizens of other states from welfare if they fail a habitual residence test, but this checks only whether an applicant has a right to reside, and whether they intend to settle.
For now, the commission says only that it will examine the decision by the British government, adding that it “is too early to say whether the new rules are compliant”.
The British debate is complicated by studies showing EU immigrants have contributed more to the UK in taxes than they take out in benefits. The department of work and pensions is unable to say how many non-British EU citizens are claiming unemployment benefits or receiving free housing.
Economics secretary Nicky Morgan said yesterday's measure sends out "a strong signal" that immigration to the UK is not an option "if you come here with the intention of claiming from day one".
The accelerated introduction of the three-month rule highlights the fears in Downing Street about the impact that extra immigration could have on public opinion.
Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith said he wanted to ensure EU migrants "remain the responsibility" of their home country until they can show they are earning and contributing elsewhere".
"There's a general agreement amongst most of the nations of the European Union that this should be the case," he said.
Labour MP Yvette Cooper said yesterday's "last minute" and "chaotic" measure highlighted the panic within the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition.
