The European dream

By Jason Moore THE other day I was watching one of those endless programmes about British people moving abroad to start a new life in the sun. The couple were set to move to Spain; he was planning to get a job as a builder and she was interested in teaching. All very nice. Then I switched over to the news; there was a story about a demonstration by hundreds of British workers who were protesting that a French oil company had brought in Italian workers to do a job on their refinery in Northern England. “British jobs in Britain” was their war cry. It just got me thinking that it is rather lucky that the French or even the Spanish have not taken the same attitude because there must be a small army of British builders working on mainland Europe along with electricians, plumbers, bar staff, etc. There isn´t a problem because we have all signed up (and that includes you Britain) to the European dream and the free movement of labour within the European Union. That is the reason why we don´t need work permits any more here. Now, if Britain wants a ban on fellow European workers, well fine, but don´t forget that they can expect the same treatment from other member states. There can´t be one rule for Britain and another for the rest of Europe.