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International Migration News - Volume #8 | |
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Benelux, France
Belgium. Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt wants to streamline its asylum processing system to reduce the number of applications- there were 36,000 in 1999, and 28,000 in the first nine months of 2000. Like Britain, Belgium plans to shift from cash to in-kind assistance, plus 200 Belgian francs ($4.40) a week. The government wants to deal with asylum applications within 21 days of their filing and place applicants in special centers until a decision is made. The government, comprising liberals, socialists and greens, has been following a two-prong strategy on immigration since it took office in 1999, coupling tougher controls with more integration assistance. At the beginning of 2000, tens of thousands of unauthorized migrants were permitted to legalize their status. In anticipation of legalization, smugglers brought thousands of foreigners into Belgium in December 1999, bringing protests from the Flemish party Vlaams Blok. Belgium's Interior Minister Antoine Duquesne said on November 27 that the country is concerned about the number of Bulgarians seeking asylum. Belgium does not normally grant asylum to Bulgarians, and Bulgaria, an EU candidate, recently launched a public campaign to end visa requirements for Bulgarians. Netherlands. Gangs from the Balkans that specialize in smuggling immigrants, drugs and weapons have made Amsterdam their center of operations. Police conducted 30 raids on November 30 in Amsterdam to send a message to the gangs that they will not tolerate them. France. There are regular demonstrations in Paris for another legalization program. In 1997, some 80,000 foreigners were legalized and 63,000 foreigners had their applications for asylum rejected. Many of the 63,000 did not leave France; they are asking that their status be legalized. The French state statistics institute, INSEE, released a report on November 8 that suggested the immigrant population has remained stable since 1975 at about 4.3 million, or 7.4 percent of French residents. About 36 percent of the foreign-born residents of France have become naturalized French citizens. About 60 percent of the immigrants live in the Paris region, Marseilles and the French Riviera.
Marlise Simons, "Balkan gangs
stepping up violence, Dutch say," New York Times, November 30,
2000. | |
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