The EU has rebuffed attempts to curtail their movement and downplayed suggestions of a flood of people seeking social welfare benefits rather than work. "In hard times, mobile EU citizens are all too often an easy target," said Laszlo Andor, EU employment commissioner said.
Some right-wing British politicians are particularly alarmed but Damian Draghici, an adviser to Romania's prime minister, said that is nonsense: "I believe that this is more of a political game... or a way to blow things out of proportion. I don't think Romanians are going to invade England."
Tjobs, a leading employment recruitment agency in Romania, revealed that recently fewer people there have been asking about jobs in Britain.
"The commission does recognize that there can be local problems created by a large, sudden influx of people from other EU countries into a particular city or region," he said.
"They can put a strain on education, housing and social services. The solution is to address these specific problems - not to put up barriers against these workers."
Britain tightened access to social benefits for EU migrants, with the introduction of measures that include a waiting period of three months for newcomers wanting to claim unemployment benefits.
"Accelerating the start of these new restrictions will make the UK a less attractive place for EU migrants who want to come here and try to live off the state," said British Prime Minister David Cameron said in mid-December.
Debate and public concern has also centred around Bulgaria and Romania‘s Roma communities. Their integration has been a long-standing problem within the EU.
Nineteen EU members had already opened their doors to workers from Bulgaria and Romania by last month. Some of the leading economies - Germany, Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands - were not among them however.
