European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini lamented after reviewing the new immigration bill: 'If you look at the numbers, Europe's attractiveness is not that high. We accept 70,000 qualified specialists per year. Not that many.'
Half of the migrants with higher education who left, for example, from the Maghreb countries (Northwest Africa) settled in Canada and the United States. And among migrants from the same Maghreb to Europe, 85% do not even have secondary education. Until the 1970s, guest workers were brought in organized fashion for work in mines and ferrous metallurgy. Now these industries have passed away, former miners and steelworkers have found jobs wherever, and their children have become EU citizens. Europe offers social benefits and a standard of living, while America attracts with the opportunity to earn money. Therefore, Europeans face a tough fight with Americans for 'quality' immigrants.
The 'Blue Card' proposed by the European Commission is both a residence permit and a work permit for two years with the possibility of extension. To obtain it, a worker must have at least three years of professional experience, no EU citizen should be competing for the position, and the salary for that position cannot be less than three minimum wages. In other words, non-professionals are asked not to bother. Families can be brought under an expedited procedure. The 'Blue Card' is uniform across the European Union, whether for Italy or Estonia. If, of course, this law is adopted. Not everyone is ready to regulate their labor market according to Brussels' patterns. Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer has already warned about this.
In Germany, the shortage of engineers, programmers, and scientists is estimated at a loss of €18.5 billion per year, although Germany is among the European leaders in receiving immigrants. There are 15 million arrivals living here, half of whom have German citizenship. Last week, in an interview with the newspaper Die Welt, Chancellor Angela Merkel called for more state attention to the integration of immigrants, their 'digestion' by German society.
'In recent decades,' she said, 'millions of arrivals have greatly changed the Federal Republic, many of them for the better. For example, among the Turks living here alone, there are about 66,000 independent entrepreneurs who annually generate €70 billion in income and 300,000 jobs.' But there are difficulties with integration. Many arrivals do not speak German well. Their children often do not finish school with a diploma. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, religion does not play an important role. The problems are the same for both Muslims and Christians. The Chancellor called for raising educational requirements for foreigners and proposed introducing mandatory preschool classes for their children.
Similar problems exist in the UK, where out of 37 million working-age population, 4 million are immigrants. But a government report published last week argues that they are a boon for the British economy. Employers hire arrivals because they cannot find workers among native Britons, the study notes. Moreover, they prefer immigrants because they are more reliable, motivated, and persistent, take on hard work, are willing to work overtime, and get sick less. In London's construction industry, for example, Poles are valued. An immigrant worker in London earns an average of £424 per week, while a native Briton earns £395. With the influx of labor from new Eastern European EU countries, the language problem has intensified. With people from former British colonies it was easier. Therefore, the government will sponsor language training for guest workers in Shakespeare's tongue. £330 per student will be paid by the employer, and £550 by the state.
If governments have a scientific and pragmatic approach to immigration, then the electorate has an emotional and everyday one. Over the past ten years, the immigrant population in European cities has 'gone over the top' of the tolerance threshold, and the pendulum of public opinion has swung to the right. This could not but affect politics. In Switzerland, in the parliamentary elections on October 21, the Swiss People's Party won a triumph, gaining 29% of the vote. Its leader Christoph Blocher is an odious populist who advocates for the isolation of the country and the expulsion of 'bad' immigrants. The election poster depicted cloud-white sheep kicking a black one. In Switzerland, with a population of 7.5 million, about 1.6 million foreigners live. Liberal politicians in Europe cannot ignore such lessons. Words about a stricter approach to immigration are appearing in the programs of all parties that want to win elections.
Alexander MINEEV.
Novye Izvestia