Daily Mail : Romanian immigration to Britain is ‘helping us very much’ because it cuts our benefits queue, says the country’s president

• Traian Basescu said Romanians leaving for the UK was good for his country
• Claimed migration to Western Europe kept joblessness ‘at a reasonable rate’
• But he said migration would ease once Romanian wages caught up with UK
• Wages in Romania are £420 a month on average, 75% less than in the UK
• 28,000 Romanians and Bulgarians arrived in the UK in the year to March

Romanian immigration is a good thing because it reduces unemployment – in Romania, the country’s president has said.

Traian Basescu said the number of jobless Romanians leaving for Britain was ‘helping us very much’.

Mr Basescu attempted to ease concerns over the number of immigrants arriving in the UK. He said many would return to Romania when wages in Eastern Europe started to match those in Britain.

He said: ‘We would be happy to have them back – probably as soon as the wages from Romania be more close to wages in the UK, or in France or in Italy or in Spain.’

Wages in Romania average around £420 a month – less than a quarter of the £2,000 a month take home pay in the UK.

The latest figures show 28,000 Romanian and Bulgarian nations arrived in Britain in the 12 months to the end of March – more than double the previous year’s influx of 12,000.

Border restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians were lifted on January 1 this year – allowing migrants from the two countries to move to the UK for work.

The number of people in Britain from the two former Communist states now stands at 177,000 – more than five times the level seven years ago.