Express Caught Making EU Up

Today’s Express Euro-frightener did not make it to the front page lead – this place was occupied by the care home abuse revelations that have been unearthed as a result of secretly filmed footage obtained not by the press, but the BBC – and that is a pity. The piece showcases the Desmond press at its most desperate in its efforts to manufacture a story where none exists.

More guff coming off these presses

“EU Wants To Open Job Floodgates” screams the headline, as hack Anil Dawar, who should hang his head in shame for this heap of bovine by-product, tells “MEDDLING Brussels bureaucrats are demanding the UK open its depressed jobs market to millions of Romanian and Bulgarian workers”. Actually, only one person stands so accused, Hungary’s commissioner László Andor.

And the Express is clear as to what Andor, whom it labels “unelected”, has done: he’s “called for a relaxation on work restrictions for Eastern Europeans ... he wants Britain to act more than 18 months before the official deadline to drop the ban comes into force ... Mr Andor claimed the need for work permits should be removed”. At least the Express doesn’t say he “provoked outrage last night”.

That’s because the document the Express uses as the basis for its rant – which comes from Andor’s department, not from any speech he gave or any comments he made – was released last Wednesday. Clearly the speed at which the Desmond press works is rather less than Express. And the paragraph concerned, which is shown below in full, doesn’t say what Dawar claims.

The “Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions” is titled “Towards A Job-Rich Recovery”, and the wording comes from Paragraph 2.3.1, “Remove legal, and practical obstacles to free movement of workers”:

“Restrictions on free labour market access to workers from Bulgaria and Romania are still maintained by nine Member States, despite the overall positive impact that labour mobility from these countries has had on the economy of receiving countries. Whilst recognising the Member States' right to apply these restrictions on labour market access until 31 December 2013 in accordance with the Treaty of Accession, the Commission reiterates the importance of gradually preparing for the full application of EU law on free movement for Bulgarian and Romanian workers”.

So no “wanting to open floodgates”, no call for any relaxation, or any other demand on the UK. One wonders if the UKIP MEP and Tory MP (Peter Bone again) were told this before they volunteered their outraged response to a manufactured revelation.

Still, it presses all the Europhobic buttons, and frightens the more gullible into buying this cheap and nasty rag, so that’s another Benchmark of Excellence.