CONSERVATIVE MEP Vicky Ford has today abled urgent questions to the European Commission about a possible influx of workers from Romania and Bulgaria coming into the UK when restrictions are lifted at the end of the year.

She says her constituents in the East of England are “genuinely anxious” about situation, and she is asking the Commission whether or not it has prepared estimated figures for the impact on the UK’s economy, employment market and social provisions.

After submitting the question, Mrs Ford said: “In the East of England we have long traditions of welcoming migrants for work, but we have also seen the huge pressures that unplanned migration can put on local services. My constituents are genuinely anxious about what 2014 could bring. How can one be prepared without estimates?

“In the past, estimates from the UK side were hopelessly inaccurate. Migration involves moving from one country to another so estimates need to look at both countries.”

The East of England MEP raised the issue in a formal parliamentary question to the Commission, tabled under the “urgency” procedure.

She says the possible influx of workers has been repeatedly raised by members of the public as she toured work places and residential areas in her constituency.

Mrs Ford added: “Have Romania and Bulgaria kept their own side of the bargain? Are their own external borders properly policed? Do their regimes respect human rights? What arrangements are being made to combat the potential spread of corruption and organised crime?

“The European Commission has a duty to help answer these questions. It will not do to tell voters they should simply trust the EU to do what is best for them. That will not reassure them.”