EU referendum: Almost half of Britons think EU integration has “gone too far”
Almost half (well, 47 per cent) of Britons think integration between EU countries has "gone too far" and that powers of individual EU countries must be repatriated, a poll has suggested.
The survey, by pollster Opinium, found 42 per cent of Dutch adults also thought powers should be returned to individual countries.
Meanwhile, 24 per cent of Germans favoured repatriation of powers, alongside 32 per cent of French people.
But Europeans are largely divided on how the EU has dealt with the UK's referendum on memberships.
Britons were, unsurprisingly, among the most critical, with 41 per cent saying the EU has dealt with it badly. Although the Italians were even more scathing, with 46 per cent saying it had handled it badly – while 40 per cent of the French agreed. In total, 35 per cent of Europeans said it's been a disaster, while just 15 per cent were positive about it.
But people in the UK took the hardest line when it came to the migrant crisis, with 63 per cent disagreeing that migrants should be allowed to settle where they choose, compared with an average of 48 per cent across the rest of the EU, while 41 per cent think refugees from North Africa should be sent back to Italy.
The news comes shortly after immigration minister James Brokenshire announced a crackdown on employers who give jobs to illegal migrants.
"Our new approach will be to use the full force of government machinery to hit them from all angles and take away the unfair advantage enjoyed by those who employ illegal migrants," he told The Times.