Analysis of the Migration in UK, France and Germany - Research Paper Example

Critically evaluate selected public social policy issues arising from the migration, resulting from recent and future EU expansion, by citizens from new entrants to the established 15 states including UK, France and Germany This analysis will examine major areas of public policy and their underlying theory in Germany and France at the present time. It will also investigate aspects of public policy and underlying theory in the other states of the enlarged EU. An assessment the relative strengths and weaknesses of individual national public policies and services together with the significance for EU policy of the proposed increased in membership of the EU will also be undertaken. The European Union developed from a series of inter-state relationships that were developed after World War II that were designed to assure that such a war could never occur again within Europe and to provide bonds between countries by providing for the free movement of goods, services and eventually people. The founding members of the European Union, the central fifteen states, have diverse economies and cultures, but they held in common the fact that they were advanced, rich countries with educated populations and high GDPs. The recent admittance of the EU-10 countries on May 1, 2005 has led to a growing concern regarding migration, but this may be seen as merely exasperating trends that were already occurring (Migration, 2005) . The fact is that there has been a discrepancy between the avowed aims of the EU: to enable the four freedoms of movement of foods, capital, workers and services across national borders and the often individual policies of some of the founding, and richer countries. Thus France and Germany have instituted polices, both on a public and private level, that reflect their worry about so-called "wage or social dumping" (Migration, 2005). The perceived "problem" arises from the fact that many German, Dutch, French and British firms have established employee leasing firms in lower wage members of the EU such as Poland and Portugal. The employees hired by these countries are then often sent to the richer countries where they are paid at rates equivalent to their home countries rather than the ones that they are now working in. Thus there are many Portuguese laborers on English construction sites, and in turn Ukrainian workers are found on Portuguese construction sites. Changes in employment practices within certain industries have been quite startling because of this movement of workers. Thus leasing firms have replaced about 50% of the c. 60,000 workers in the German slaughterhouse industry with Polish workers. While Germany has no minimum wage laws, it has attempted to regulate this movement through, among other policies trying to extend its mid 1990's law mandating union-agreed wages for all workers in the construction industry to other sectors of the economy. These individual country laws are often at odds with the wider push of the EU towards greater freedom. In this case "freedom" is argued to be the need for competition and lowers wages/prices in countries such as France and Germany. But these countries do not want the lower wages and what is perceived as the lower standards of living and quality of life that will occur. In an economic sense there is deep suspicion of the new EU countries and a pus to tighten national laws, but it is one that will inevitably come up against a shifting balance of power with Europe. Thus, as van Selm and Tsolakis (2004) suggest: With their different experiences with immigration, asylum and border control, the new members may refresh debate. The EU might at last build a common policy, rather than constantly seeking harmonization of existing national laws. It may, thus, even be possible for the EU to start to consolidate and unify its migration stance, rather than making agreements that merely chip away at the concrete block of national sovereignty. (van Selm & Tsolakis, 2004) These authors raise a question that is at the heart of the whole debate regarding migration of workers both within the EU and from outside countries into the EU. The question, basically put, is whether Europe will become a truly federalized system, and thus perhaps "The United States of Europe" or whether some degree of national sovereignty for individual states such as the "France", "Germany" and Poland" will remain. While the member states of the EU claim to have a common vision in actuality that is transparently not the case. Thus countries such as Britain have apparently no intention of giving up the idea of a national sovereignty while others, such as Germany regard a United States of Europe (with their 'country' as the natural focal point) as the natural historical progression. While member states attempt to answer the very real problems caused by economic migration and, as will be considered in a moment, other pushes towards the migration of people, they are unlikely to be solved in any meaningful way while this basic question as to what the EU "is" remains unanswered. The issue of movements of people within the EU, and especially from outside the EU because of the humanitarian needs of asylum-seekers, have come to the fore in recent years (Arbuthnott, 2002). The theoretical basis for offering asylum to those who need it, especially within Germany, came from decision after the horrors of WWII that Germany, instigator of genocide, should now become a beacon of hope for the oppressed people's of the world (Ozment, 2004). This was to be the case for those who suffered from oppression, but not for people in general. Thus after WWII Germany recruited foreign workers to help in their burgeoning economy, but these would often be repatriated according to the economic needs of the time (Brubaker, 1992). The government officially stated that "Germany is not a country of immigration" while the facts seemed to contradict this statement. Thus the number of immigrants to Germany rose from 500,000 in 1960 to 4 million in 1973 (Statistiches, 1975). Thus the idea that Germany was not a country of immigration became increasingly "counter-factual" (Takle, 2004) as the century grew to a close. By the year 2000 there were 7,300,000 immigrants in Germany, representing nearly 10% of the total population. Many of these are the "privileged migration groups" which can come to Germany virtually at will. These are Soviet Jews and Eastern European ethnic Germans. This law, called the BVFG was instituted soon after WWII in response to what is commonly seen as a great and sincere historic responsibility on the part of Germany. To be succinct, Germany feels a responsibility towards those groups that it had attempted to wipe out in WWII or whom were deeply effected by Nazi policies. Part of this attempt at a long-term "rehabilitation" for Germany after its crimes of WWII is the very liberal policies concerning student visas for the citizens of virtually any country. In recent years this has led to the entrance of some rather unpleasant characters to Germany in particular and to Europe as a whole. The 9/11/2001 attacks on America were planned and organized in Germany by Al Qaeda terrorists posing as students who recruited genuine students for the attacks. This, and the fact that the 7/7/2005 bombings were undertaken by Muslims of British birth, has led to the idea that there is a "Muslim problem" resulting from the immigration and settlement of Muslims within the EU. But, as Miller (2005) suggests ""the great mass of the many millions of Muslims in Europe has nothing to do with the radical activities of a small fringe . . . the vast majority are law-abiding and share the aspirations of fellow Europeans who numerically dominate Europe's still small but growing Muslim population". But along with this population there is a certain segment that does seek to attack what are often their countries of national origin. The dichotomy between allegiance to the liberal ideals of freedom and tolerance with allegiance to an extreme form of Islam that rejects the Western way exemplified by the ideals of the EU is present within many European countries. Indeed, it can be seen as the defining matter of the present time, even though the number of Muslims who actually adhere to this extreme version of their religion is miniscule. In France, which has a contrasting history of immigration based more upon its colonial past (particularly in Algeria) than on any historical wrongdoing, a number of riots have occurred within French cities that are seen as evidence of something seriously wrong within the migration and immigration system that is in place: Over the past few years, terrorist bombings of the public transport systems of Madrid and London have sparked fears that Europe may be breeding its own crop of indigenous jihadists. Less understandably, those events have also sometimes been conflated with events such as the murder of the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a deranged fanatic, last fall's riots in the French banlieues, and recent protests over disparaging cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Together, these events have been taken as evidence that the immigration and integration policies of several European countries have all failed. (Giry, 2006) The idea that Muslims are somehow incapable of integrating within Europe is based upon a number of premises. While there is some racism involved, such as Jean-Marie le Pen in France, this ideas is also based upon some of the ideas of the radical Muslims who state explicitly that they have no wish to assimilate. The idea that within France, Holland and to a lesser extent Britain there are a number of Muslim enclaves that are, to quote Margaret Thatcher in a different context, "an enemy within" has led to many calls for a change in immigration policy. But the fact remains that most of the extremists are not new immigrants but rather were actually born in the countries that they are now attacking. They are "British", "French", "Italian" and, in a broader sense "European". They are citizens of the countries that they are attacking, thus bringing a new type of problem to the EU. This problem, whether genuine or otherwise, has led to political change within Europe and the growth of ultra-Right political parties in a number of countries. Thus the National Front in France, the FPO in Austria, the Vlaams Blok in Belgium and the Northern League in Italy are all seen as proto-Fascist organizations that are virulently anti-immigrant, xenophobic and more-or-less racist in nature (Tresilian, 2002). The fact that Le Pen beat the Socialist candidate in the first round of the Presidential elections in 2002 came as a shock to many, both in France and throughout the EU in general. His victory, together with gains by extreme-Right parties in local elections in various racially divided British cities shows that current immigration policies are moving greater segments of the population towards extreme-Right views. To conclude the European Union is based upon a highly optimistic and idealistic vision of the world in which populations and individuals from diverse cultures, economies and belief systems can come together within a single body for the common good. Its origins lie in the destroyed cities, ruined buildings and millions of lives lost in the Second World War, with an attempt to make the promise of "never again" a practical way of life rather than a meaningless platitude. Migration, both within the EU, and from other countries to the EU is an essential part of this utopian vision. Another integral feature is the expansion of the EU to other countries in the East and South of Europe that share its vision for the future. But as the EU expands and as increasing numbers of people are to be found within its borders, so the economic, political and cultural problems that can be associated with migration start to appear. It seems as though a common EU policy on such matters is needed, although that seem as far away from realization as at any time. ______________________________________ Works Cited Arbuthnott, Tom. "Migration in an Expanding EU". BBC News. April 8, 2002. Brubaker, Rogers. Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany. Harvard University Press, London: 1992. "EU: Migration, Services, Employment". Migration News, Vol. 12, No.2. April 2005. Giry, Stephanie. "France and its Muslims". Foreign Affairs. September/October, 2006. Miller, Mark. "Muslim Immigration to Europe". The Minaret, October 1, 2005. Ozment, Steven. A Mighty Fortress: A New History of the German People. Harper-Collins, New York: 2004. Statistisches Bundesamt. Auslander in Bunmdesgebiet seit 1960. 1975. Takle, Marianne. "Changes in Germany Policy on Immigration: Reframing and Weakening of Ethnos". Arena, May 2004. Tresilian, David. "Le Pen's France". Al-Ahram Weekly Online. 2-8 May, 2002. Issue 584. Vam Selm, Joanne. Tsokalis, Eleni. "The Enlargement of an 'Area of Freedom, Security and Justice': Managing Migration in a European Uni8on of 25 Members". Migration Policy Institute Policy Brief, May 2004, #4. Read More