The European Union is set to allow travel Bulgaria and Romania join the Schengen area, so there are no passport controls between the countries and the rest of the EU.

The move will mean that illegal immigrants who cross the border from countries like Turkey would be unchallenged until they get to the English Channel.

Schengen has already been blamed for the huge numbers of illegal immigrants camped in Calais, attempting to get to Britain. They do not have a legal right to enter France, but they are able to get from illegal ferries landing in Italy to the UK border because there are no passport checks anymore.

A total of 26 countries are in Schengen, and new EU member is required to agree to join it at some point. The only countries with a permanent opt-out are the UK and Ireland, although as they are both island nations visitors would need identification to fly or sail to them anyway.

German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, told the Daily Express: “We are ready to begin the discussion process. The security situation has changed but we are going to continue working hard so non- Schengen countries can meet membership requirements.

UKIP MEP Gerard Batten said: “This seems an extraordinary thing for the Germans to do considering Romanians and Bulgarians can travel freely through Europe already. The only people who will benefit from it are those who are not able to cross the EU legally. This shows how committed the Germans are to a fully integrated borderless state and a United States of Europe.”

The issue of immigration is one of the critical issues amongst British euro-sceptics, with around half a billion EU nations now entitled to live in the UK. Traditionally it has been hard for the UK authorities to differentiate between legal immigrations from former Eastern Bloc countries and those from place like Russia who should apply for a work visa.

David Cameron had called for a cap on EU migration but the German government has effectively vetoed this.