Brussels Battles

THE BATTLE OF BRUSSELS

Nicholas Newman 22 February 20006

What strikes me when I visit Brussels is the sheer diversity of views on any given topic under discussion. It just goes to show how our British eurosceptic media paints a rather one-sided picture of issues in Brussels. Recently, I was in discussion with journalists from all over Europe at a conference held in Brussels, discussing the big issues that affect us all. What amazed me was the sheer variety of opinions on such topics as immigration, farming and even enlargement.

“Immigration has become the bugbear of Europe’s politicians,” said Francois, a pert, thirty something French fashion magazine editor. “Both the left and the right now believe it has become a cause of our social ills,” interrupted Bjorn, a dour Dane. “We in France feel we are being colonised by Islamic imperialism, with there demands for special privileges - like Shari law”, continued Francois. “Well in Germany - you could say - the Turkey has come home to roost – whole suburbs now feel more like Istanbul, than Frankfurt.”

“I agree, their demands to opt out of European society, are a threat to our very freedoms, culture and democratic traditions,” argued Sabina, a tall blond Austrian. “In fact - it is a threat to our prosperity, all countries that have adopted Shari law are economic basket cases”, said Bjorn. “But we need immigrants to fill the job vacancies we have,” said Brigitte, a motherly financial journalist. “What we don’t need is the wrong type of immigrant,” observed Bjorn. “As we found in Denmark, we don’t need unskilled migrants - with no work ethic. Europe needs the skilled and the educated. Not those determined to live on welfare.”

“At least, under Tony Blair we have woken up to the fact that multiculturalism is a two way street. At last we are following Denmark’s and Holland’s lead in policies to actively encourage our new citizens to integrate,” observed Nicholas, an expansive magazine publisher. “The trouble is Europe still has a major problem to tackle, because the likes of Chirac - ignored the problem for so long,” noted Otto, a Berlin business journalist.

“Francois, Bjorn and Otto – all complain how migrants are changing things, but you forget the other side,” stated Klaus, a thickset transport journalist from Warsaw. “You, Nicholas welcome all the Polish doctors and plumbers that staff your hospitals and repair your drains. “Yes we do,” agreed Nicholas. Klaus continued, “What you forget is the negative impact on our society; whole districts of Poland, now populated by just the old and young, everyone else had made the dash to the west. My children’s school has lost half its teachers.” “That is precisely why the founding members are slowly opening their labour markets to migrants from the new member states,” interrupted Francois. “Also, we don’t need the rest of Europe’s unemployed to move to Paris or Berlin. Because we have been suffering our own economic problems, due to our political elite refusing to take the tough decisions that Tony Blair made to reform Britain’s economy,” observed Otto. “At last with Chancellor Merkel, things seem to be improving,” said Brigitte.

“In Britain, our media loves to hate everything that Brussels has done. Yet even they are realising that their demands to cut the ties that bind us with the rest of Europe, will not help tackle the problem we have over immigration,” observed Nicholas. “We are realising this problem is too big for any one country,” interrupted Klaus. “That’s right all though our euro sceptics hate to admit it; they need Europe to tackle this problem. In fact, much to their distaste they are agreeing with the rest of Europe, in demanding increased regulation to manage the movement of labour throughout Europe,” continued Nicholas.

What we found, is that the current state of anarchy that pervades much of Europe’s labour markets dependent on migrant labour, is not in any one’s interest. Managed migration is in the best interests of both Europe’s migrants and society as a whole.