Benefit tourism

Benefit tourism is the English name given by Britain's prime minister Tony Blair to the perceived threat that after May 1, 2004, huge masses of citizens from the European Union's ten new membership countries would invade the previous fifteen member states only to benefit from their generous social welfare systems. This threat has been used as a motivation for some (initial, temporary) restricitions in the free movement of labour within the union. As such, the threat towards the welfare systems is more politically correct than the threat against trade union members of competition from cheap east European labour.

• Article (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/eu/story/0,9061,1140882,00.html) in The Guardian on February 4, 2004