Čtvrtek 28. března 2024, svátek má Soňa
130 let

Lidovky.cz

Comment: Social cohesion or humiliation in the EU?

Evropa

  15:45

A visit to an office for non-EU immigrants reveals a deep divide in the way citizens from inside and outside the EU are treated.

An afternoon panel discussion on the impact of the economic crisis on social cohesion policies in the European Union emphasized the rift between EU diplomatic speech on social integration and the recent harsh economic realities.  

“Our biggest challenge in the EU right now is to find out how to avoid being rolled up like a sushi by China in the coming years,” said Aleš Michl, main economist at Raiffeisenbank in Prague. He pointed at the post-crisis economic landscape in Europe and the pending threats, such as financial aid required by Ireland and possibly other EU members.

On the other hand, Matthias Schäfer, head of the political economy department at the Foundation Konrad Adenauer Stiftung emphasized that social policies need to be remembered during an economic downturn.

The two French representatives, Pierre Naves, general inspector for social affairs, and Michel Amiel, an officer with the department of intake, integration and citizenship at the French Ministry of Interior, praised France’s successful integration policies.

This August, France expelled dozens of European citizens of Roma origin back to their home countries. The two state officials’ comments could be seen as ironic, even though it seemed they believed what they said. The situation isn’t any better for a Czech in France, a Romanian in the Czech Republic or a Moldovan in Romania.

A line of humiliation

The reality of social integration in the EU looks different when seen from outside. A personal incident that occurred recently placed this truth in a sad light. We needed a permit for a residence transfer to the Czech Republic for an EU citizen. When you decide to visit the office of the Foreigners Police—officially called the Alien Police by the Ministry of the Interior— in Prague 4 get ready for a dip into a Soviet novel.

The office has no clear indication of which offices are for EU and non-EU citizens. At 6 a.m., a long line of mothers with babies and men smoking cigarettes with shivering hands are already there. Starting a 7.30 a.m., the officer in charge lets a few people inside. The line moves with hallucination inducing slowness. In the open field there is nowhere to hide from the cold. We stood in that line from 7 a.m. till 2.30 p.m., when we were finally taken in. Only that then did we realize we had been standing in the wrong line.

This line was for non-EU citizens. We swallowed our frustration and moved to the second line. This one was inside, with toilets, it was warm and there was even a coffee machine. EU citizens apparently deserve better treatment. By 5 p.m. we had had our documents filed but nothing could yet erase the bitter taste of humility that confronts a non-EU citizen in the EU.        

Foreigners are needed

People line up every day at similar offices across the EU-27. The situation isn’t any better for a Czech in France, a Romanian in the Czech Republic or a Moldovan in Romania. Speaking of social integration and successful policies to mothers with frozen babies in their arms is a bitter irony.

Moreover, the Czech Republic is getting ready to toughen rules on non-EU immigrants, including qualified workers and top managers. The legal amendment is now in second reading. If it passes into law, it will mean the loss of millions of dollars in tax revenue when companies that require foreign experts relocate, Weston Stacey, the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce, told Czech Position.

The real problem is that we need those mothers with their children. The EU is going on a steep downward demographic slope and no one has answered the question of who will pay for pensions 50 years down the road. The answer is that the future EU taxpayers will probably be Vietnamese, Russians, Turks and Chinese who are currently striving for a better life.

Before I left the panel discussion, the gentleman at my right turned to me and asked me in Czech: “Why did we accept countries like Romania in the EU? We don’t need them anyway.” I looked at him and thought: how lucky. He was past 50, so he probably will live short enough that his pension still be paid by Europeans. As for me, that’s going to be a different story.

 

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