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13:00 GMT
LONDON, Nov 21 (KUNA) -- British Prime Minister David Cameron insisted
Sunday it was "perfectly possible" to cut immigration to the tens of thousands
a year.
MPs have cast doubt on whether a limit on numbers from outside the European
Union can significantly reduce net migration from its current level of almost
200,000 a year.
But, in an interview with Sky News, the Prime Minister indicated he
remained committed to more than halving immigration and insisted that it was
achievable.
"If you stand back and look at the big picture, actually immigration
between Britain and the rest of the EU is pretty much in balance," he said.
"It's between Britain and the rest of the world where it's got out of
balance and we have this large level of net migration into the UK."
"So I think if you tackle all of those things it's perfectly possible -
it's my ambition - to get to net migration from the rest of the world coming
down to the tens of thousands rather than the hundreds of thousands," he noted.
The Home Affairs parliamentary Committee warned recently that the cap would
make little difference to overall immigration and could damage the economy.
It said fewer than one in 100 migrants entering the UK might be affected.
An announcement on the cap - replacing an interim limit on non-EU immigration
already in place - is expected within the next few weeks.
The issue has caused friction within the coalition, with Business Secretary
Vince Cable expressing concern about the ability of firms to bring
highly-skilled employees to the UK.
Cameron told the House of Commons this month that the cap should not affect
intra-company transfers and that he wanted "much better immigration control
without disadvantaging business."
Cameron said today the Government had been discussing the cap with business
and that it would try to exempt intra-company transfers.
"Businesses have been discussing with us their concerns and worries and I'm
quite convinced you can tackle immigration and control it properly and at the
same time make sure businesses can move people around the world."
He added "I'm very convinced we will be announcing plans that show
controlled immigration but business-friendly immigration at the same time".
(end)
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