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The EC: In Search of a New Policy
| Article
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20625 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
Date : |
10 / 1992 |
2,828 Words |
| Author
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Kimberly A. Hamilton
Kimberly A. Hamilton is coordinator for international social
policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
in Washington, D.C. |
Historically, there is little as-pariah paradigm, especially during austere times of economic and political faltering. Western Europe shares borders with and has shouldered the humanitarian burden of many of the world's areas of transition. The coalescence in Europe of historic events--including the crumbling of the Berlin Wall, the run-up to EC 1992, the breakdown of Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union, and the reunification of Germany--has placed enormous strains on countries that once knew their friends from their foes and their neighbors from strangers in a well-defined, Cold War world.
The election results in Europe, according to some analysts, however, are a harbinger of tougher, more violent days to come--especially if you happen to be one of the thousands of down-at-the-heel immigrants and asylum seekers who have sought refuge and opportunity in the countries of western Europe. In regional elections in France, Germany, Belgium, and Italy, victories of parties promoting anti-immigrant platforms have captured headlines in all of Europe's major newspapers alongside reports of acts of violence and mean-spirited demonstrations against various immigrant groups.
What is happening in western Europe, however, is a much more complicated, long-term, and interesting process than the symptomatic and fitful rise of the Right and race--or nationality--based violence. Attacks against aliens are only the surface manifestations of a much more troubling and long-term problem facing western Europe. Answering the "who are we now?" question--that is, who belongs and who does not--will be one of the most difficult policy challenges facing government leaders in the continuing swirl of European change.
Although not alone in their experiences, France and Germany are on the front lines in sorting out their immigration policies, especially with the approach of January 1, 1993. Together, they also highlight the enormous difficulties facing the European Community in general as it attempts to align the policies of its member countries regarding common internal and external borders. Deferring legislation on citizenship, access to political asylum, and social and welfare benefits combined with diverse bilateral relations and colonial legacies illustrate the political and economic snares facing Europe's "new countries of immigration."
No Longer in Denial
Immigration in the western Europe of the 1950s and 1960s, outside of the channels of political
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