United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan came to Brussels to receive the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought established by the European Parliament. And Annan, quite consistently, used his speech before the European Parliament not so much to express gratitude as to remind about a long-standing problem. The issue is migration, or rather, the absence of a common policy in this area. Five years ago, the justice and interior ministers of EU countries set themselves the task of developing a common policy on migration and asylum. Now they have set themselves another deadline - May 1. The fact is that with the accession of 10 new countries to the European Union, the problem becomes even more acute. The EU's borders are expanding, and they are becoming increasingly difficult to protect.
The UN has long been urging the European Union to pursue an active migration policy and to accept more refugees on legal grounds. In his speech, Kofi Annan once again emphatically reminded of this demand. His main thesis is this: not only do migrants strive for Europe, Europe itself needs an influx of migrants. The aging of nations in Germany, Italy, France and other EU countries will sooner or later lead to the collapse of the economy and social welfare systems.
The gap in living standards between rich and poor countries will only increase the influx of immigrants to EU countries. All politicians who seriously deal with this issue understand this perfectly. But the recipes they propose are different. For example, German Interior Minister Otto Schily dreams of a kind of fortress called “Europe”. In his view, refugees should be detained right at the external borders and sent to so-called safe third countries, or even better, make it more difficult for them to leave their own countries. He once again confirmed this position at an informal meeting of justice and interior ministers in Dublin.
In his speech, the UN Secretary-General indirectly made it clear that it is precisely this policy that forces many refugees to sneak into the European Union illegally. They set sail on leaky boats across the Mediterranean, cross the Oder, and entrust their fate to gangs of human traffickers. The hidden erosion of the provisions of the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees is a shameful phenomenon for the whole world.
But Kofi Annan not only defends the rights of refugees, he also advocates expanding legal migration. Among the rich regions that accept migrants, the European Union ranks last. The United States leads, magically attracting both highly qualified specialists and day laborers. Yes, the influx of immigrants harbors the threat of growing hostility towards foreigners. Yes, integration is always associated with difficulties. But migration rejuvenates society, and the advantages outweigh all the problems, believes Kofi Annan.
And maybe Europeans should remember their own history? Was it not they who once flocked by the millions in search of happiness to the USA, Canada and Australia? Today, the same motives force migrants from other countries to seek refuge in Europe.
But here's what is interesting: judging by this speech, the UN Secretary-General has finally abandoned the unrealistic hopes of improving the situation in poor countries enough to ensure a decent life there. The industrially developed countries set themselves the task of the century: by 2015, to raise welfare in poor countries so much that the number of people forced to live below the poverty line would be reduced by at least half. But so far, progress along this path has been more than modest. And now, instead of this, Kofi Annan proposes expanding opportunities for migration to rich countries for both highly qualified specialists and ordinary workers.
In Germany, discussions about adopting an immigration law have been going on for a long time. True, it provides for something quite different: inviting only specialists that the German economy needs. It is unlikely to become a contribution to the fight against poverty. Rather, it will lead to a brain drain from developing countries and their final impoverishment. But about this, the UN Secretary-General did not say a word.