Britain should be 'grateful' for migrants, says Romanian minister There are growing fears that there will be an influx of people, with some Tory rebels calling for the current border controls on migrants from the two countries to be extended when they lapse in January. Mrs Campeanu refused to estimate how many might chose to move to Britain, but pointed out that the vast majority of Romanians currently living in the country are economic migrants who are not in the UK to live off the state. She said she supported David Cameron's plans to restrict benefits for EU nationals, including preventing new migrants from claiming for three months. But she suggested that the welfare state was precisely the reason British people did not take thousands of low-paid jobs, including 22,000 fruit picking positions which had been filled by Romanians and Bulgarians on temporary visas over the summer. Speaking in Bucharest, Mrs Campeanu said that the "generous" welfare system in the UK "should maybe be a reason why many British people do not access the vacancies on the labour market for which Romanian citizens, for example, are going to apply. If there are any vacancies, somebody will fill them, whether they are from Romania, Italy, Spain or wherever. It is not just low-paid positions that were being filled, she added, as 1,471 Romanian nurses registered to work in Britain between April 2010 and March 2013 under an exemption to the restrictions. She said taking all the factors into account, including the fact that Romanian migrants "contribute greatly" to the country's GDP, "the UK should be grateful that these people have come to live there." Victor Ponta, Romania's Prime Minister, has already called on Britain not to treat his people as "second-rate citizens" as an increasing number of senior politicians express their fears over possible migration figures. Mrs Campeanu, who was interviewed before Mr Johnson's comments, warned the Conservatives against picking up on Ukip's rhetoric and said it was "unacceptable in the 21st century that expressions of racism and xenophobia are taking place."