Under new trade plan; 40,000 Indians allowed to work in Europe

At least 40,000 Indians may be allowed to work in Europe, including 12,000 in Britain alone, under a secret trade plan between the European Union and New Delhi, a media reprot said, citing leaked documents.

The EU has proposed that 40,000 Indian workers will be admitted to Europe without any labour market test as part of the plan to boost export trade with New Delhi, the Daily Mail reported, quoting a leaked copy of the EU/India Free Trade Agreement , due to be signed later this year.

Central to the agreement is the European Union's offer on what is known as 'Mode 4', which will allow Indian companies to bring temporary workers into the EU, the newspaper said.

According to the leaked papers, out of 40,000 Indians who would be allowed to work in Europe, Britain has been asked to take 12,000, 30% of the total allocation, despite the UK making up 12% of the EU's population.

The 12,000 Indian migrants , who would be able to live and work in Britain for six months, will be in addition to people given visas under Britain's supposedly strict immigration cap, the newspaper said.