Immigration and the European Parliament Elections

 

From the Telegraph

The tiny island of Lampedusa, Italy has witnessed a “jailbreak” of around 700 immigrants from their detention centre. The centre where the immigrants were held is designed to hold 850 immigrants but is currently bursting at the seams with over 2000 residents. The Lampedusa mayor described the event as a “protest” rather than an escape.  These events come hot on the heels of a UN Report on the situation of immigrants on Malta in which the UN said that Malta could do more for the immigrants (and that’s a euphemism):

 

Malta’s detention policy for irregular immigrants was heavily criticised by a United Nations working group that described the conditions at Safi and Lyster barracks as appalling and detrimental to the immigrants’ health. The UN Working Group on Arbitary Detention yesterday presented its preliminary findings after a five-day trip that included visits to the detention centres, Corradino Correctional Facilities and meetings with the government.

Both small Mediterranean islands receive a disproportionate amount of immigrants who end up on their land while on their way to mainland Europe. Both islands are facing a logistical disaster that is a humanitarian crisis in the making. The problem for the governments of Italy and Malta is that the idea of “burden sharing” is a tough one to sell. Outgoing US Ambassador to Malta Molly Bordonaro described an agreement between Malta and the USA for the US to relieve Malta of  a number of immigrants as a resounding success. Small wonder that it was. Few other countries, especially in the EU block are willing to engage in the burden sharing business. Immigrants and immigration is a dirty business and the less hands are sullied the better.

Governments see immigration as a short-term catastrophe. Creating solutions rarely rakes in votes when the solutions mean a better life for the immigrants. It also means less incentive on the part of cynic politicians to try. More and more citizens resent the presence of immigrants on their land. Threats to jobs are mentioned and all it takes is the presence of immigrants at state funded hospitals to light the ever shorter fuse of intolerance. The racism card is waved all too easily at times but the problem goes far beyond simple black or white. 

One would expect that an issue such as illegal immigration and immigration would be a top issue for the elections for the European Parliament. But how far do the powers of the EP go when it comes to EU action on immigration? Is the EP much more than an organised pressure group on the governments? Will it win any tug of war with Council on the issue? Maltese candidates tend to tow the party line on this matter. Sofar neither of the two behemoths that squat the limelight of Maltese politics have produced satisfactory conclusions – whether you see this from the perspective of humanitarian NGOs or of far right loonies proposing to shoot immigrants on sight and turn them back to their shores.

 

On the one hand the topic of illegal immigration might not be that much of a priority when it comes to chosing Malta’ next MEPs (5 in all). On the other hand it does serve to illustrate how unrepresentative the candidates can really be when they are stuck to an incompetent, opportunistic party line that does not seem to go much farther than blaming the elements.

This post also appears on The Malta Chronicle.

Just Like That

Been a heavy day at work so no real time to blog. Meanwhile elsewhere, where work is mostly secondary to survival, two pilots performed an extraordinary landing into the freezing waters of the Hudson River as a plane struck geese disabling its engines upon take off from NY La Guardia. All passengers survived the ordeal. In Gaza Israeli forces pushed their hand before what seems to be an imminent ceasefire. The UN food compound was bombed as Israeli troops elieved tha shots were fired from there. The UN strongly denied this and said that Israeli generals privately admitted that it was a mistake. Reports of white phosphorous being used illegally in civilian areas were not mistaken. At least Ehud Olmert said sorry to Ban Ki-moon. All in a days’ work in the run up to the Israeli electoral campaign. Netanyahu and Likud must be shivering. 

This has been j’accuse… blogging at 1 am so you don’t have to.

There’s No Gas in Gaza

The irony is striking. The response time of the international community to two very different situations is telling. Yesterday Moscow heeded pressure by, amongst others, a group of EU nations and reopened the much needed gas supply to the countries currently not enjoying extreme bouts of cold. The dispute with the Ukraine regarding the price of gas has not been solved and may become acrimonious again but it was sensibly decided to reopen the gas supply and avoid any potential sufferance in the coming weeks.

Zoom to Gaza where Hamas show the first signs of caving in to the might of Israeli rockets. Israel seems set to move into Gaza City as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon tries a last ditch mission to negotiate a truce.

Slovakia had been on the brink of blackout. Hungary had to halt supplies to Serbia and Bulgaria for technical reasons. In stepped the EU and before you know it mediation between Russia and Ukraine is in place and the gas is flowing. Of course Russia made its point. It brought Europe to its knees.  The Economist cartoon of the week makes the point clearly by portraying an EU man lying down and tied to the ground by pipes in a Gulliver fashion with two other men – Russia and the Ukraine  – fighting on top of him. The prostrate Europe is saying to the two “Ok  you two… you know where I stand on the matter”. Which is exactly what it could not really afford to do. Stand that is. Russia had Europe by the balls… and all this with the excuse that it had a tiff with Ukraine.

Meanwhile back to Gaza where the rockets fly, Palestinians are living a daily mess and the embargo on journalists means that Palestinian bloggers are the only source of information (and foreign bloggers in Palestine). Mediation is not exactly foreseeable in the near future… at least not until the Israelis are satisfied that they have incapacitated Hamas’ military power.

Elsewhere the sun sets on the Shambles of the Bush Empire. Speaking at his last press conference he referred to the fact that no weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq. “You may call it a mistake…”, said he… talk about no regrets. Pity no journalist was equipped with metal tipped DM’s to hurl at the bastard.  May he get itches in places where he cannot scratch.

Such a pity there’s no Gas in Gaza.

addendum: Vittorio Arrigoni blogging from Gaza (the real blog journalism)

Gas – The Night of the Prom

 

No Energy for War

 

 

The Russians are feeling cool. The Ukrainians are feeling involved. The Europeans, at least most of them, are feeling deprived and cold. Most European countries depend on different sources for their supply of gas. Take Italy for example. It depends on Algeria, Russia, Libya, The Netherlands and Norway in that order. Gas is crucial in the winter months because it is needed to fuel the central heating systems with which most European homes are supplied. 

Vladimir Putin’s Russia and its huge gas supplier Gazprom has decided to play cool at this freezing time of the year by cutting off the gas supplies to Europe. The problem is that the reason for this sudden freeze of supplies is a dispute with neighbouring Ukraine and has nothing to do with  Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Serbia, and Austria – all countries who are feeling the bite but have no responsibility for Russia’s current grudge with the Westward looking Ukrainians. 

Italy’s Enel reports that thanks to diverse contracts with other suppliers it has enough gas to supply homes until the 26th January. After that who knows? The situation is worse in the Balkans and former communist states which are more directly hit. The current wave of biting cold in the middle of Europe is not helping matters in any way. The EU is caught on the wrong leg once again since it has no common programme for gas supply or common gas market. After the Israeli question, the EU once again finds itself in a dire need of a much more reactive foreign policy – it is useless for individual nations to continue to flounder alone when the problems of today’s world afflict the community as a whole and when it is evident that a common reaction can be much more beneficial.

With an outside temperature of minus five and an inside personal temperature around the fahrenheit hundreds this is your reporter from centrally heated Belair, Luxembourg saying that it is over and out for now.

More:

The BBC on the disruption in Europe.

La Stampa on the Moscow closure of service.

The International Herald Tribune on the point of view from Ukraine.

Slovakia joins the Euro

… Czech Republic assumes EU Presidency

Slovakia has become the 16th member of the Eurozone. Prime Minister Fico withdrew 100 euros from a cash machine in the Parliament building on the stroke of midnight. Unlike Prime Minister Gonzi in Malta last year, Fico’s withdrawal occurred without any embarassing hitches. Slovakia follows Slovenia as the second former communist country to join the Eurozone. As Slovakia was joining the euro, the neighbouring Czech republic took over the rotating presidency of the European Union. Notably, Czech president Vaclav Klaus had dismissed this event as being “unimportant” and this had raised mixed feelings among EU circles regarding the Czech presidency dring what is considered to be such a crucial moment of EU development.