UK Immigration: Scandinavia Warns Britain's Freedom of Movement Curb Will 'Ruin' the EU

Three Scandinavian countries have warned against UK Prime Minister David Cameron's plans to curb immigration and claimed that stricter migration controls will "ruin" the European Union.

Leaders from Sweden, Finland, and Norway have all voiced concerns over Britain possibly applying for an "emergency brake" to immigration. Norway is not a member state of the EU, but is closely associated with the Union through its membership in the European Economic Area.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said freedom of movement was "extremely important to Norway" and the principle was "ideologically important as a conservative".

Norway participates in the EU's Single Market so citizens are able to use freedom of movement laws to migrate to the UK.

Meanwhile, Finland's Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said the principle of freedom movement was "rather holy" and the UK "should be rewarded with an EU medal for bringing forward the holy grail" by opening the borders to Eastern Europe, at a summit.

"Thank you for having opened your borders and let's see what we can do about the whole situation to try to alleviate it and facilitate it," he added, after reporters asked at a summit about what his message would be to Cameron.

Elsewhere, Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven warned against immigration curbs ruining the EU.

"The fact that one country believes that one thing is wrong does not mean that we can change because every country might have its own priorities and that may just ruin the European Union," he said at the Northern Future Forum seminar in Helsinki on 6 November.

"I think it's wrong because that means that every country can find their own solutions on different issues.

"If you first create a common market with common rules and then if the individual countries are supposed to change that on their own, then, I mean, soon, we do not have a European common market."

Cameron and his Conservative party are under pressure to tackle rising immigration as support for nationalist and anti-EU groups, and heavily controlled migration, is growing across the UK as well as Europe.

UK Chancellor George Osborne said it was in Britain's "national interest" to curb immigration while Cameron is tipped to be announcing his plans to tackle migration issues before Christmas.

However, EU leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has warned that immigration issues are not up for negotiation and it could lead to Britain leaving the bloc.

This week, a new study showed that immigrants from 10 countries that joined the EU over the last decade has contributed more to the UK economy than they have taken out in benefits.

According to the University College London's Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration, EU immigrants added £4.96bn more into the UK economy in the years to 2011, than they took out in public services, such as the NHS or education.