The Importance of Integrating Europe's Migrants.

Europe’s population is becoming increasingly diverse, while its capitals true melting pots of cultures and people.

And while we are discussing how to integrate the continent’s economies and population, we seem to forget that nowadays Europe is not a homogenous region. Apart from the indigenous ethnic minorities, many people from all over the world now call Europe “home”.

If we are planning to create a diverse multicultural society, we have to discuss how to integrate these people too; they may have arrived in our continent more recently, yet they know no other home country. We can only make a progress in their integration, when we discuss openly the issues they are facing and try to find solutions. One of the main ethnic groups that still face discrimination in Europe, are individuals of African origin.

Zephrynus “Zeph” Ikeh, the founder and CEO of Africa-Irish Development Initiative Ltd (AIDI) and Project Coordinator of Black History Month Ireland (BHMI), describes how young African immigrants are coping in Ireland.

He has been living in Ireland since 2008 and he is very involved in community work. He has a different opinion on the way people view the integration process. “We cannot speak about integration when people are not included,” he says. According to him, the essence of inclusion is for people to be involved and participate in all aspects of society’s life. “I do not see that happening in the mainstream Irish society, even within the immigrant community” he describes.

Integration for Zeph means equal opportunities in education and employment, social and economic inclusion. For African migrants, the support is definitely not always there. While those who have acquired a European nationality see themselves as EU citizens, they often do not have the same opportunities to feel like one.

A big problem is the lack of information, for EU citizens in general but especially for African migrants. There may be a lot of opportunities, but the access to the information needed to avail them is an issue for everybody.

“If there were more immigrants working in government bodies, they could provide all information needed to the immigrant community” Zeph explains.

He also believes that to integrate people from different cultures there must be a creation of various platforms to encourage the integration process; in schools, in community participation projects, cultural events, intercultural festivals etc.

Zeph thinks that the EU must promote cultural diversity and that has to be extended to the immigrant communities. The club’s members are sovereign states but through the EU, Europe could collectively do more to support the integration process. For example, the media do not help much with the situation. “Often the images they use to portray immigrants or especially Africans are very stereotypical” explains Zeph. He also mentions the lack of positive role models of African or other migrant origins in European media.

In Italy a couple of years ago, there was an unacceptable incident when people racially abused the Minister for Integration Cecile Kyenge. There was just not enough condemnation by Europe, or action taken to set up an example.

Many Africans perceived that as a very tolerant stance from European governments, regarding it as racism towards politicians of African origin on our continent. If these people got away with it, then others possibly will do it, too. “Does Europe think it is a club only for white people?” asks Zeph.

“You got to understand that an immigrant is someone who has come to a place to settle, not leave after some years. A migrant is someone who has come to a place for a short time” he continues.

His opinion is that European countries treat both groups the same way and that has to be changed. Our governments must establish legislation to assist and promote the immigrants’ integration into our societies.

Bringing only Ireland as an example, Zeph thinks that the political spectrum is one very sided. “There is a stereotypical view of what is Irish or European,” he adds. But that is not only an Irish phenomenon, most EU countries struggle in integrating fully their immigrant communities. So potentially the key is a pan-European effort to eliminate discrimination.

Also, he suggests that certain steps must be taken to assist further integration. For example, there must be some effort and funding to establish media created by immigrant journalists or broadcasters, with a different opinion and content that would interest those of an ethnic background. 

There should be additional opportunities for young African immigrants to get engaged in local, national or European politics. As ignorance is the main problem that generates racism, therefore Zeph believes that through education at all its levels we could fight prejudice.

“Young Africans can contribute a lot to the Irish or European society,” Zeph describes. “There is a lot of potential talent in areas such as sport and music, but also entrepreneurship, yet they do not get access to grants so that they can develop their talents,” he continues.

Zeph brings as an example the African-American contribution to America’s arts, music and sports. He believes that Africans can offer a different perspective and act as a bridge between Africa and Ireland or Europe.

“They can definitely help change the world and create a better relationship between Europe and Africa, if only they are encouraged” Zeph concludes.

Our world is becoming increasingly multi-polar, as many new global powers are emerging in other continents, while Europe is a region with limited resources. How it treats its immigrants could potentially influence the future, help forge stronger alliances with the countries of origins of its immigrants.

In other words, Europe must decide what it wants. It is in our interests not to have second-class citizens, that feel alienated and hostile towards the societies they were born. Given the opportunity, they could become an asset, not a burden to our continent.

Europe cannot trap individuals in limbo, using them for cheap labor while hindering their progress. Immigration issues should not be ignored. European nations are becoming more xenophobic recently, but further exclusion is not the answer.

The fight for the new post-Brexit EU budget.

Britain’s exit in March next year will deprive Brussels of some 12 billion euros from an annual budget now running around 140 billion euros.

That hole has already prompted to some quarreling between other net contributors, which do not want to make up for the loss, and the Eastern states, which say they should not suffer from cuts in EU subsidies. (Irish Independent)

Günther Oettinger presented the draft EU budget for 2018 on the 30th of May, acknowledging decision-making difficulties. 

The Commissioner said that the draft budget had taken account of recommendations from the Parliament and the member states, by increasing the amounts allocated for the Erasmus+ programme, as well as for Horizon 2020. 

Also, the European Solidarity Corps, a new initiative which provides volunteering placements, traineeships and job offers for 2-12 months, is getting its own budget for the first time.

While the EU Commission labeled it an exercise in stimulating job creation for young people, boosting growth and strategic investments, for some of the bloc's members things are more complicated. (Euractiv)

Last February eight Eastern European EU countries agreed to support an increase in payments by member states in the bloc’s next long-term budget, but recently things turned a bit sourer.

The problem is that until now, the largest source of revenue in the EU’s budget is a uniform percentage levied on the gross national income (GNI) of each member country. (Irish Independent)

All this is about to change, due to a new styled budget. Warsaw and Budapest are expected to lose out on massive amounts of cash as Brussels proposes to move tens of billions of euros in EU funding away from central and Eastern Europe to the countries worse hit by the financial crisis, such as Spain and Greece. 

The aim of the plan is to support the less developed parts of the union as Brussels does not want to continue distributing cash just based on a country’s wealth or GDP. Cash given to countries will depend on different criteria such as youth unemployment, education, the environment and innovation. (Express)

In addition to the above alteration of EU's priorities, the Commission, backed by Germany, France and the EU’s other wealthy budget contributors, want to tie funding on which poorer eastern countries rely to respect for the rule of law. This could cost Hungary and Poland millions of euros.

The two countries found themselves in the bad books of EU, after a series of misconducts. First, it was their rebellion against the bloc's migrant quota, in order to deal with the refugee crisis. In addition, their shift to more authoritarian government and the reformation of their judiciary system, did not go down very well with the rest of the EU.

There have been many calls from top European politicians to cut funds towards these two nations, or even limiting some of their voting power in the Council of EU. While there is a justification in such calls, as EU membership comes with certain obligations, the danger here is from where these two countries will seek to cover the gap in their income.

Poland has already hinted at allowing more US bases to settle in its territory, no doubt with further US financial support, while Hungary is known to flirt with Russian elites and influence. Can the EU push these two countries further away from its core? 

By May, the prime ministers of Hungary and Poland, allies in their disputes with Brussels, united in opposing cuts under the European Union’s new budget. The EU plan is set clearly to cut money in the 2021-2027 budget for member states that interfere in their legal systems. Poland and Hungary however, insist on protecting the interests of their farmers. (Reuters)

These two countries are not the only ones which may be heavily affected by the new budget. Ireland’s annual contribution to the EU budget is likely to rise to over €3 billion, more than 50 percent above the current level.

However, the budget is framed around cuts to farming subsidies that the Irish economy is dependent on. In an effort to cut costs and promote other policies, farmers will see aid shrink in the 2021-2027 period to €365 billion, down 5 percent from the current Common Agriculture Policy budget.

Something that France too, by far the largest beneficiary of CAP, has already signaled their opposition to the proposed cutbacks in farm spending. (Irish Times)

From the Irish point of view, there is a concern on contributing more, if it means more funds going towards security and less on agriculture.

Ireland, a country that is neutral, may have to be spending money on European defense, while at the same time cutting the backbone of its economy by the reductions to CAP. For its farmers and many of its MEPs, that is an issue. (RTE)

It is really regretful that many countries want to hold on to what already exists. Reforms are always painful and bring challenges, yet they are necessary to progress and deal with the increasingly fluctuant reality that Europe finds itself in.

From Brexit to American change of foreign policy under Trump, increased security issues and immigration, a multipolar world with many emerging economies and blocs, or the assertiveness of China and Russia, Europe is faced with many challenges.

The Common Agriculture Policy has always been a great source of income for Europe's farmers, and a pillar of the European economy. Yet things are constantly changing and like everything, it has to be reformed, in order to adapt. Europe cannot rely forever largely on agriculture.

EU policies must reflect the needs of Europe's economy and political reality, which have been changing for many decades now. Thus, we need to keep updating them. Naturally, any drastic alteration always leaves some losers while others as winners. However, this shift is necessary.

We need to diversify our economy, both as individual member states and collectively as a continent, in order to prepare our future generations for the world that is coming. With America becoming an unreliable partner, we have to start looking after ourselves.

This budget is only the beginning. As some states will lose out from CAP, the richer nations must realize that the smaller, poorer ones will need a new different type of funds and support, in order to keep their economy thriving, by investing directly in these countries.

Thus, a further integration of the European economy is much needed and the solution. And while rich member states like Germany oppose and block this development, it will come a day that even they won't be able to stop it, unless they are ready to see the disintegration or further fragmentation of the block.

The best way to deal with disobedient member states like Hungary and Poland, or weaker economies like Greece and Irish or French over-reliance on CAP, is to modernize, diversify and harmonize further the European economy. If everyone has a secure flow of investments to achieve this, the quarreling will soothe out, while in addition there will be less foreign interference in EU, as there will be a lesser need for third-party cash.

In other words, if every EU member state is wealthy and has a stable economy, the more engaged and committed it will be with the bloc and its requirements. In theory at least. Inequality on financial terms, protectionism within Europe, conservatism and petty nationalism will have to give way for the greater good of the continent, in order to achieve collectively bigger achievements. European countries must finally decide which direction they want to follow and this budget hints of hopeful changes. 

An interview with former Irish MEP, Gay Mitchell.

Gay Mitchell is an Irish politician who was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency on 11 June 2004. 

He was a member of Fine Gael, a part of the European People's Party, and a former Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South–Central constituency from 1981–2007.

In a past interview with him, we discussed the impact of the economic crisis in Europe on the future of our continent.

“We really got to look at the history of Europe”, notes Mr. Mitchell, as he describes how the EU is all about peace and stability in our continent. About 60 million Europeans killed each other during the first half of the last century. A small number of people came together after that and had the vision of building European interdependence.

Sadly, the citizens’ trust and confidence citizens towards the EU institutions were badly damaged by the economic crisis in Europe. “What is different about this crisis is that we now are going through a golden era”, he continues. The Berlin wall has come down, and eleven former communist states have joined the ever-widening and deepening block.

“I know that many people across Europe are suffering because of the crisis. But if you compare what happened back in the ‘20s and ‘30s, things were much worse. Now we got these institutions and they are trying to help. When we look back at this era, we will say that our relationship got us through the worse financial crisis the world has seen since the ‘20s and we’ve weathered it”, M. Mitchell adds.

He also believes that we are wrong to be talking about austerity in Europe. Instead, we should be talking about solidarity - country to country and person to person.

“But we are too near the wood to see the trees. The real problem we have in Europe is lack of solidarity. And I do not just mean the German solidarity with the Greeks and the Irish. I mean solidarity between people - all of us who can afford to give, should give” he continues.

According to M Mitchell, the fall of the Berlin is the source of the problem. At the time, the question was whether Europe would end up with a Germanic Europe or a European Germany. Mr. Kohl and Mr. Mitterrand decided, in a very statesmanlike way, that it would be a European Germany – and the common currency was born.

Abolishing the German mark and the French franc was not easy. The European currency was not well-founded, and when the crisis came, Europe was not able to deal with it because it did not have a central fiscal control.

“But now we have all these foundations, so that when we come out of this, we will do so stronger”, believes Mr. Mitchell “In the meantime, we should remember that the EU is about interdependence and solidarity”.

“The EU is not without its faults and sometimes it will drive you crazy, but so is the Irish political system which it is not without its faults. No political system is perfect. But it really is an extraordinary exercise”, he continues.

He also believes that the more Europe there is, the better it is for small member states. More inter-governmentalism just allows Germany, France and Britain to lead the agenda. When Germany and France broke the stability pack, nothing happened, so it is unfair of them to lecture the peripheral countries. We all make mistakes. The EU Commission is here to protect the Treaties, which are agreed by all member states. The interests of all nations must be taken into account in the European process.

Some like to say that the European continent is set to become the “United States of Europe”. But in reality, this process does not have a name. “In political science, there are terms of federalism and confederalism but what we are doing is unique. The Queen of England won’t disappear and neither will the President of Ireland”, Mr. Mitchell explains. The EU is a new, unique political entity which we are building by mutual agreement and this, along with how successful it has been, is the remarkable part of it.

The Lisbon Treaty brought about a more considerable change in the balance of power in Europe that people realize. The European Parliament (EP) has become really powerful, in European terms. “We don’t do what the national parliaments should do; therefore MEPs should be a bit more accountable”, he notes.

 “I’d like to see some process whereby MEPs and the work that we actually do gets more coverage and exposure, but also more questioning and debate”, Mr. Mitchell says.

“Europe is changing fast and the developments are happening because we are planning our future. The world is moving Eastwards and Southwards. When the USA, Russia, but also China, Brazil and India will be powerful, we will be 6% of the world’s population, so we can’t speak with 28 voices in those circumstances”, he explains.

The EU is already planning for that and its institutions are what allows Europe to be heard. The block already has one spokesman for foreign affairs, a permanent head of the European Council and an external action service.

“Have a look at the picture of the EU Parliament in Strasburg. It is architecturally designed like an unfinished building, because the EU is a work in progress. We are deciding all this together. It is an extraordinary democratic process”, Mr. Mitchell describes.

“It is a great thing that the European nations cooperate in this. I think that this whole exchange of cultures and people is a great thing, it as it has enriched us all”, he adds.

Of course, it is now the ECB who sets the interest rates and decides on the value of our common currency. “But we have a feed in the ECB through the European system of Central Banks and in time we might have an Irish Governor of the ECB. That is far better for us than when the British were setting our interest rates, as it happened when Ireland had the pound”, he notes.

“People have to realize that within the institutions of the EU there has been a shift of power, and somehow the European Parliament needs to become as accountable as the US Congress. When they think of an MEP, they should think of a Congressman. And the only way we can achieve that is actually by giving more coverage to what the EP does, so people will be aware of its work. Who are our Commissioners and our MEPs matters.” Mr. Mitchell believes.

Yet any serious political business is very hard to get coverage for. “I remember what a prominent RTE journalist told me years ago. If you want to close a newsroom in the RTE, send a news-story about Northern Ireland or Europe. These two were the two most important policy issues for us at the time”, he says.

“But the only thing that made the media aware was a bomb in Northern Ireland, and that’s not the media’s fault. When they start broadcasting serious stuff, people switch stations”, he adds.

The EU has to engage the people somehow, and make them want to know more. Maybe something needs to be done in the area of public sector broadcasting, so that people could switch on and listen directly. Europe needs to find a way of communicating issues to the people.

European citizens, on the other hand, must not just be defensive of their country, but participate and have a say. Express what their view is on where Europe has to be. Collectively, we should be building coalitions with other EU nations and work on sorting out things.

“We are doing an examination of what and how the Troika did, when dealing with the economic crisis. There were mistakes made and wrong things done, but the government at the time and the one that succeeded it, fell themselves at a sort of “3 o clock in the morning” scenario and so did the EU”, Mr. Mitchell explains.

“If everybody had full hindsight I think there are a number of things that could have been done differently. For example a bail-in rather than a bail-out, that would be there for everybody. There are still some issues that I think really need to be renegotiated. The government here is doing remarkably well in the economic area and they are winning the war. They did not win every battle of course”, he adds.

Mr. Mitchell suggests that Ireland and other countries under a bail-out program will not get the money back from the people they paid, but the EU has to look at it again. “We all participated in that decision, which was not perfect and so there must be a revision”, he says.

We are lucky that we had the right institutions in Europe. The deputy governor of the British Bank of England made a speech about their importance. They made a difference this time, in Europe’s battle with the crisis.

“The Markets threw everything at us; they tried to bring the single currency down. Do you know what the implosion of the currency would mean? The implosion of the union, because barriers then would go up, people would start devaluing their currencies for competitive advantage and then the single market would fall apart”, Mr. Mitchell explains.

The consequences of that would be similar to what happened to Yugoslavia. Peace and stability are what the EU is about, building economic interdependence and then prosperity can follow. And not just in Europe, but in the world.

Gay Mitchell will not be running for the 2014 European elections. After ten years in the European Parliament and 26 years in the Dail (the Irish House of Representatives), he decided that it is a good time to go and focus on other things that he wants to do.

 “I feel very privileged to have been an MEP and I loved the job in the EP. I have had an influence and a say. I found it hard in ways because it is very difficult for small states to break through and get higher jobs. It was lonely at times, ten years of not being at home with my family. Because when you are finishing in the Parliament in Strasburg, you got to go and visit other places”.

“One of the most interesting and influential jobs I have held is as an MEP. I can persuade other people, the Commission, as well as the Ministers, want to talk to you when you are an MEP, depending on what Committee you are on”, he says.