"The migrants are coming!" It's a battle cry currently heard across large parts of Europe - an issue dominating not only the headlines in the British press, but also the talk in German pubs and even the toned-down, politically-correct documents of the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) parties.
We are currently experiencing an attempt to reduce a complex problem involving party politics and European policies to a single aspect – namely the dangers associated with the alleged flood of immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania and their impact on the public welfare systems.
But the reality is much more complicated. First of all, it concerns citizens of two different EU member states. Secondly, the migration isn't homogenous. While some Bulgarians and Romanians have a sincere desire to find work, others hope to collect child and unemployment benefits.
And some of these people are Roma. Bulgaria and Romania have millions of Roma people, most of whom are very poor, and very badly treated by the majority population. Thirdly, the migrants' qualifications vary. While some are doctors and engineers, others can hardly read and write. And fourthly, there are no reliable forecasts of the number of possible immigrants, nor of the advantages or disadvantages for the labor market and welfare systems.
Read more: Opinion: 'It's about the future of Europe' | Europe | DW.DE | 02.01.2014
We are currently experiencing an attempt to reduce a complex problem involving party politics and European policies to a single aspect – namely the dangers associated with the alleged flood of immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania and their impact on the public welfare systems.
But the reality is much more complicated. First of all, it concerns citizens of two different EU member states. Secondly, the migration isn't homogenous. While some Bulgarians and Romanians have a sincere desire to find work, others hope to collect child and unemployment benefits.
And some of these people are Roma. Bulgaria and Romania have millions of Roma people, most of whom are very poor, and very badly treated by the majority population. Thirdly, the migrants' qualifications vary. While some are doctors and engineers, others can hardly read and write. And fourthly, there are no reliable forecasts of the number of possible immigrants, nor of the advantages or disadvantages for the labor market and welfare systems.
Read more: Opinion: 'It's about the future of Europe' | Europe | DW.DE | 02.01.2014
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