Germany: 1 May rule changes raise mixed feelings in EU - TheNews.pl :: News from Poland

While the government in Berlin is positive about opening its labour market to Poles and others on 1 May, British media are warning of a new flood of immigration to the UK by eastern Europeans “looking for handouts”.

Changes in regulations on 1 May mean that Germany will open its doors fully to Poles and the other new arrivals to the EU from Eastern Europe. Germany’s economy needs more skilled workers to maintain economic growth, says the government in Berlin.

“Free movement of workers is normal in the EU and we are delighted that people from Eastern European Union will finally be able to make full use of this,” German State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour Ralf Brauksiepe told foreign journalists in Berlin, Sunday.


For more: 1 May rule changes raise mixed feelings in EU - TheNews.pl :: News from Poland

RTÉ News: EU Immigration: Electronic entry system proposed for Europe - by Sean Whelan

For the complete report from RTÉ News click on this link

EU Immigration: Electronic entry system proposed for Europe - by Sean Whelan

There is a hard way and an easy way of doing everything and becoming an illegal immigrant is no different. The hard way involves dangerous journeys, smugglers, hardships and constant risk. The easy way is to enter a country legally, with a proper visa, and then just stay on after the visa has expired. It was standard practice for Irish people going to the US, so it should come as little surprise to us to learn that around half of Europe's estimated eight million illegal immigrants got into Europe the easy way - legally. But now the European Commission wants to make it harder for legal entrants to stay on beyond their allotted 90 days and they want to use technology to do so.

Newsgirl: EU- Britsh Amy Winehouse Song of the Year award winner refused visa to US to attend Grammys

Amy Winehouse wins Song of the Year at Grammy's

For the complete report from Newsgirl.org click on this link

EU-Britsh Amy Winehouse Song of the Year winner refused visa to US to attend Grammys

On Sunday British soul singer Amy Winehouse won the Song of the Year prize at the 50th annual Grammy Awards Sunday in Los Angeles for her single "Rehab." Amy Winehouse, the British singer with the fantastic voice, yet tumultuous, drug-riddled life, will not be attending the Grammys this year, in-spite of her 5 nominations.

Winehouse, who led the evening's ceremony with four major awards, beat the songwriters behind "Before he Cheats," sung by Carrie Underwood, "Hey There Delilah," sung by the Plain White T's, "Like a Star" sung and written by Corinne Bailey Rae, and "Umbrella" performed by Rihanna. Winehouse, who was not at the ceremony to pick up the award personally, was originally due to perform live at the show but was denied a US visa last week. By the time US authorities approved her visa on Friday, her publicist said it was too late for the 24-year-old singer to travel to Los Angeles.

Note EU-Digest: another example of the hypocritical US foreign policy measures by the Bush Administration.

Daily Mail: Foreign gangsters operating freely in EU - drug and sex rings criminals move in on country towns - by James Slack and Steve Doughty

For the complete report from the Daily Mail click on this link

Foreign gangsters operating freely in EU - drug and sex rings criminals move in on country towns - by James Slack and Steve Doughty

Foreign criminals are expanding into rural towns to exploit profits from drug dealing and people smuggling, an investigation revealed yesterday. The highly-organized international gangs have penetrated seaside resorts and previously quiet towns and villages. The gangs include Jamaican Yardies selling crack in Hereford, Albanians running prostitution rings in Hampshire and vicious Chinese Snakeheads smuggling cockle pickers into Britain to work in Morecambe.

Reuters Africa: Immigration will transform Europe- says Spanish minister

For the complete report from Reuters Africa click on this link

Immigration will transform Europe-Spanish minister

A European Commission proposal for stricter controls on illegal workers and efforts to ensure migrants' children are well educated should help the continent digest the large influx of workers, Spanish Immigration Secretary Consuelo Rumi said. Spain, which had very few immigrants until the early 1990s, is now home to about four million foreigners, 10 percent of its population. Some of these are retirees from places like Germany and Britain, but most have come from Morocco, Latin America and Eastern Europe to seek work in a booming economy.

"If you enter illegally you leave the country in the shortest possible time," Rumi said of Spain's 'revolving door' repatriations. This year, the Spanish government expects to grant visas to about 200,000 people from outside the European Union who have been awarded working contracts, Rumi said.

Global Politician: Is Europe waiting for Churchill or Godot? - by Fjordman

For the complete report in the Global Politician click on this link

Is Europe waiting for Churchill or Godot? - by Fjordman

"Europe is now at one of those famous crossroads where the course of history could go either way. Given the weakness of Europe and the rapid expansion of Islam, it would be foolish to discount the possibility that Muslims could win this. However, I happen to think that another possibility is that Islam not only will lose the battle for Europe, but could become destroyed as a global force during this century. Maybe in some strange way, Europe needs to go through a period of colonization and de-colonization herself, to get rid of her post-colonial guilt complex?

Sharia is worse than war. I have hard claims that European civilization will not survive the century. A century is a very long time, remember that. Would anybody (except Churchill) in 1906, when Europe really was strong and powerful, have predicted that Europe would now be in the process of being overpowered by Algerians, Africans Moroccans, Turks and Pakistanis? Things change. They can change for the worse, but they can also change for the better. If we do get another world war, which appears increasingly likely, this could finish off what remains of European civilization for good. But it could also, theoretically, have the opposite effect, where the shock waves could create a different kind of Europe from the decadent, nihilistic Europe we see now. A Christian revitalization, for instance. Yes, this could happen. Stranger things have happened before. Our ancestors, better men and women than us, held the line against Islam for more than one thousand years, sacrificing their blood for the continent. By doing so, they not only preserved the European heartland and thus Western civilization itself, but quite possibly the world in general from unchallenged Islamic dominance. The stakes involved now are not less than they were then, probably greater."

The Hindu: Making waves at a young age in Norway - by Suresh Krishnamoorthy

Anna Ljunggren - member Norwegian Parliament
For the complete report from The Hindu click on this link

Making waves at a young age in Norway - by Suresh Krishnamoorthy

As a youth council member) in hometown Narvik, she had the opportunity to observe how politicians hit it off with people. This sparked the desire to become a politician and she joined the Labour Party when she was just 17. Born on June 13, 1984, Anna Ljunggren became the youngest member of Storting, the Norewegian Parliament, from Nordland County at age 21, on a ticket from the Labour Party. It has 69 of the 169 seats and runs the Government in coalition with the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party. On a recent visit to Hyderabad, as part of a 14-member group of the Standing Committee on Education, Research and Church Affairs, Ms. Anna said to reporters:"Our job is to address the concerns posed by the human resources crunch. We have a population of 4.5 million while Hyderabad alone has over six million. Our HR is grossly limited in areas of science and Information Technology. That is why we look to India." Presently, all that a techie needs to enter Norway on a work permit is a letter of employment."

Playfuls.com: Controversial Election Law Strains Bulgaria's Ruling Coalition

For the complete report from Playfuls.com click on this link

Controversial Election Law Strains Bulgaria's Ruling Coalition

A Bulgarian government coalition party on Wednesday walked out of the country's parliament in protest at a controversial law effectively limiting the right of the Turkish minority to take part in European votes. The Movement of Rights and Freedoms (MRF) party boycotted the legislature over the law barring Bulgarian citizens living in other countries from taking part in the election of the country's representatives in the European Parliament in three months. Only Bulgarians with a permanent residence longer than three months would be allowed to vote, according to the law targeting citizens living in neighbouring countries, such as Turkey and Macedonia.

Bulgarian nationalists had been accusing ethnic Turks of abusing their dual citizenship by practicing "election tourism" - travelling to the country only to influence elections or otherwise draw benefits from citizenship while living and working in Turkey.