8/2014 United Kingdom Attitudes to European Union Enlargement(United Kingdom Attitudes to European Union Enlargement) Author(s): Colin Swatridge Language: English Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences Issue: 07+08/2014 Page Range: 49-55 No. of Pages: 7 Keywords: enlargement; immigration; employment Summary/Abstract: The UK was an enthusiastic advocate of EU enlargement up until 2004. In 2001, 8.3 per cent of the UKpopulation was foreign-born; by the beginning of 2014, it was 13 per cent. In the decade between 2004 and 2014, theimmigration issue rose up the list of concerns voiced by the general public, and in consequence it grew in politicalimportance. EU enlargement came to be associated with mass immigration, in spite of the fact that immigrants fromEU countries account for only one third of the total. In consequence, the UK now sets a slow-down in theenlargement process as a condition of continued membership of the EU. DR. COLIN SWATRIDGEVisiting Lecturer at Miskolc University, and Pazmany Peter Catholic University (Hungary); former Head of General Studies at Reigate College and Chief Examiner for General Studies for one of the main awarding bodies (UK)