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International Migration News - Volume #8 | |
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EU: Enlargement?
The European Union's 15 leaders met in Nice, France in December 2000 to discuss how to share power in an enlarged EU; no new members can be admitted until EU decision-making processes are reformed. EU leaders agreed to allow the EU Commission to grow from 20 to 27 members, and to allow more decisions to be made by "majority voting"- at least 73.4 percent- most EU decisions are already made by majority voting. The EU Parliament, which currently has 626 members, will expand to 738 members when all 12 of the candidate countries join. EU leaders agreed to retain unanimous voting on taxation, social security and most immigration policies. The four largest EU-member nations-- Germany, France, Italy and Britain-- will have 29 votes each in the enlarged EU. Spain and Poland will have 27 votes each; Romania, 15; the Netherlands, 13; Greece, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Hungary and Portugal, 12; Sweden, Bulgaria and Austria will have 10; Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Lithuania seven each; Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Cyprus and Luxembourg four each; and Malta, three. This means that a qualified majority would be 258 votes out of 342, with 89 votes required for a blocking minority- vetoes will be possible with three large nations and one small one. In October 1999, in Tampere, Finland, EU leaders agreed to develop: (1) partnership agreements with the migrants' nations of origin; (2) common asylum guidelines; (3) programs that accelerate the integration of immigrants; and (4) controlling the influx of migrants and reducing illegal migration. For more information: www.europa.eu.int/comm/nice_council/index_en.htm The EU Commission in November 2000 opened a debate on a common immigration policy by suggesting that each member-country should have an indicative target rather than an EU-set quota of immigrants to be admitted annually: governments should project labor market shortages and develop "medium-term policy for the admission of (non- EU) nationals to fill those gaps". A joint policy on asylum is anticipated by 2004. Austrian Chancellor Schuessel wants to maintain unanimity on immigration and asylum, effectively giving any EU-member state a veto over immigration and asylum issues at the EU level. The EU's November 2000 statement said that current policies were not working. It noted that there were about 350,000 asylum applications a year, and that some 500,000 unauthorized migrants enter the EU annually. Instead of legalizing some of these unauthorized foreigners- an estimated 1.8 million foreigners were legalized since the 1970s in Europe- the EU wants to combine immigration channels with stepped-up enforcement. The Schengen Information System, established to permit free movement within participating EU countries, holds records on 1.3 million individuals, including one million non-EU foreigners who are to be denied entry. The SIS can be accessed from 50,000 computers by thousands of police, immigration officers and visa-issuing embassy staff. Schengen members are: Italy, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland, Portugal, Spain, Austria and Greece-- Sweden, Denmark and Finland are in the process of joining. At the end of 1999, the SIS had data on 10,500 people wanted for extradition, 27,400 who had gone missing or were in need of protection, and 17,000 to be subjected to "surveillance and checks". Germany wants to require EU-member states to report data on instances of 20 or more fraudulent passports or visas, and when illegal immigration increases suddenly. The EU social affairs commission, Anna Diamantopulou, said that the EU "cannot tolerate that (female genital mutilation) within our borders." The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 140 million women and girls in Africa have had FGM, and their number increases by two million a year. Specific laws prohibit female circumcision only in two EU countries, Britain and Sweden. Visas. German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that new EU members from Eastern Europe must wait at least seven years to get freedom of movement: "If there was complete, immediate freedom of movement for workers, Germany would be confronted with an increased influx. For parts of our labor market, especially where unemployment is high, this would not be manageable." Critics said that Schröder was anticipating an issue in the 2002 campaign. There are 13 Eastern European nations awaiting entry into the EU, and nationals of three-Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey-must generally have visas before they can enter EU nations. The EU agreed to lift visa requirements for Bulgarians on December 1, 2000, and to set the conditions under which Romanians could enter EU nations without visas. Romania and Moldova are separated by the 160-feet wide River Prut, over which foreigners from Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Iraq often enter Romania en route to western Europe. Moldova is Europe's poorest country, with a per capita income of under $400 a year for four million residents, most of whom are small farmers. Some Moldavians reportedly sell organs such as kidneys in Istanbul for $3,000 to $4,000. Bosnia is the only European country that does not require visas of Turks and Iranians. Some 24,000 visitors from these countries arrived in the first 11 months of 2000, and only 1,000 of them returned to their country of origin from Bosnia. Demography. Credit Suisse First Boston issued a report in December 2000, Demographic Manifesto, that urged an end to mandatory retirement ages, and the introduction of measures to encourage women to work. For more information: http://www.csfb.com/news/html/2000/december_5_2000.shtml
"EU decides to lift visas on
Bulgaria," Reuters, December 1, 2000. | |
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