UK facing serious legal threats for breaching EU law

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

Canada: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…

The European Commission has threatened for a possible legal action against theUK; limiting benefits claims for those overseas could leave taxpayers facing a cost of £2bn.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Mr Duncan Smith is currently leading reforms to the country’s benefits system, bringing in the Universal Credit. TheUK’s “right to reside” basis for benefits is automatic for UK nationals but assessed for other EU nationals. It is reported that the commission is saying that this breached EU law and has given the UK two months time period to fall into line with EU rules and possibly could face the prospect of the commission taking the case to the EU’s Court of Justice. The UK government is of the view that the Britons “should be gravely concerned” at EU erosion of states’ rights to run their affairs.

According to theUKrules, benefits such as child benefit, child tax credit and state pension credit should go only to EU nationals who pass a “right to reside” test. But the European Commission is keep on assessing it as a breach of EU social security co-ordination rules with regards to overseas nationals, giving all citizens equal rights.

Smith has debated that these new proposals pose a fundamental challenge to theUK‘s social contract. It is meaningless that the British taxpayer pay out over £2bn extra a year in benefits to people who have no connection to our country, and who have never paid in a penny in tax.

He further added that the EU settlement is supposed to protect the right of member states to make their own social security arrangements. But now, a rising tide of judgments has been seen from the European institutions using other legal avenues to erode away these rights, and UK government should be gravely concerned in this regard.

Employment Minister, Chris Grayling has stated that this is a very illogical development. It seems reasonable to support those who work and pay their taxes here, but it’s completely unacceptable thatUKshould agree to benefit tourism. It is of immense surprise that the European Commission has gone into battle on this very sensitive issue when there are far more burning problems to be solved at their earliest.

Article viewed on Oye! Times at www.oyetimes.com