The European Commission says the end of restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians from working across the EU has not so far resulted in plane-loads heading west.<br /><br />There have been fears particularly in the UK that large numbers would come.<br /><br />The British government is tightening rules to ban EU immigrants from claiming benefits for three months after arriving in the country.<br /><br />It has also talked of imposing a cap on European migrants.<br /><br />The Commission was asked for its response.<br /><br />“The free movement of workers is a fundamental principle which is established in the treaties, which have been ratified by the parliaments of the 28 member states. Any modification of the treaty requires a negotiation of all member states,” said EU Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd.<br /><br />The British Prime Minister David Cameron has suggested EU treaties could be changed to ban European migrants from claiming child benefit.<br /><br />Many in the UK fear a repeat of a decade ago when EU enlargement led to more than a million Eastern Europeans coming to Britain – in albeit different circumstances.<br /><br />In 2004, Britain was one of only a handful of countries to open its labour markets to eastern countries amid a relative economic boom. The opening of internal EU borders to Bulgarians and Romanians on January 1 this year applies across the European Union. <br /><br />The issue looks set to dominate the political agenda in the UK in the run-up to European elections in May.
