Cox hits out at enlargement hysteria

The President of the European Parliament has hit out at hysteria about the effects of EU enlargement.

Pat Cox has said the accession of 10 new states to the EU this weekend is an extraordinary act of reconciliation and a special occasion for this generation of Europeans.

Speaking after a meeting with the British Foreign Secretary in London, Mr Cox called for a rational debate, and attacked reports hyping up immigration fears.

“I think it is a win win prospect for everybody involved. I regret in some places the reductionism of this argument to theories of floods of migrants. The greatest flood I have observed is the flood of tabloid headlines.”