Rationality is victim of anti-immigration rage

Immigration has been high on the agenda of the member states and the EU institutions in recent weeks.

Italy’s tussle over its Romanian immigrant population in the form of a law allowing for the expulsion of EU citizens has worried many. The incident that prompted the law, the murder of an Italian woman, resulted in a public condemnation of the main suspect, a Romanian Roma man. Italian politicians have since been making political mileage out of the crisis. "In the first seven months of the year, Romanians made up 75% of the arrests of those who raped, stole, killed. We clearly have a specific problem," said Walter Veltroni, Rome’s centre-left mayor.

The UK has also seen a big focus on immigration with David Cameron, the opposition Conservative leader, forcing a debate on the issue. He said that the current rate of immigration to the UK was "unsustainable" and added that a Conservative government would impose controls on the rights of nationals of new EU states to work in the UK. For non-EU immigrants, Cameron pledged to set annual limits on their migration and establish a border police force with powers to track down and remove illegal immigrants.

Official figures revealed in the UK soon after Cameron’s speech further inflamed passions. They showed that if immigration continued at current levels the UK’s population would grow by more than 10 million in the next 25 years.

The debates in Italy and the UK both focus on immigration and the need to control the incoming numbers, by expulsion if necessary, rather than on why tensions have arisen. "A lot of the problems are down to inadequate planning and foresight into what is happening," said Elizabeth Collett, an analyst with the European Policy Centre. "In the UK not enough thought went into education and housing when there would have been a need to sit down with the local authorities," she added.

The UK has been one of the biggest champions for the expansion of the EU and is squarely behind Turkey’s bid to join the Union. But Jan Niessen, director of the research body, Migration Policy Group, said that "there is always a bit of nervousness in a transitionary period".

"There were also hiccups in the past like for example when Greece joined the EU with the British press starting to cry wolf over claims on the UK welfare system," he added.

But while member states grapple with backlashes against immigration resulting from EU enlargement, the European Commission has been busy finding ways of making it easier to bring in migrants from outside the EU. The Commission points to grim trends to emphasise the need to welcome some workers to the EU. With a fast-declining population, the EU is failing to attract highly-skilled labour, while Europe’s borders seem pervious to illegal immigrants, Commission officials say.

A proposal on circular migration which would see migrants allowed to work in Europe for temporary periods was presented in May as a way of dealing with illegal migration, while a proposal for a European ‘blue card’ scheme, to attract skilled workers, was presented at the end of last month. Further proposals are expected soon on making it easier for seasonal workers and trainees to come to Europe.

Given the debate raging in some member states, it is hard to see many governments signing up to the Commission’ vision for immigration, no matter what the reality for the EU’s future labour market is.

But there is an area where the EU is having an impact. A recent study co-authored by Niessen, the Migrant Integration Policy Index, ranked EU members in terms of the integration of migrants. Although the study showed that problems existed, Niessen said that it also showed that "on the whole the European approach is playing a role in areas such as anti-discrimination".

The message appears to be that by changing legislation to stamp out discrimination and providing money through the EU’s €1.771 billion Integration Fund to help support national integration policies, the EU can make life easier for migrants.

The call by the prime ministers of Italy and Romania last week for the Commission to present a strategy for the integration of Europe’s Roma minority underpins this EU role.

But despite noble attempts at EU level to help integration, the inflamed immigration debate will continue to rage in domestic politics.

Immigration has been high on the agenda of the member states and the EU institutions in recent weeks.