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E.U. to check flow of illegal immigrants

Batuk Gathani

LONDON: Member nations of the European Union are tightening the grip on illegal immigrants who often pose as "asylum seekers" to gain entry into these countries.

Issues related to immigration dominate the politics of the Centre-Right parties in 15 members of the E.U. which belong to the "old" Europe.

According to an opinion poll, race and immigration have become key issues for more than a quarter of the European electorate. Even the Centre-Left Government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Germany has declared war on illegal workers in the country's factories, under the pretext of checking the "black economy".

Recently, German customs and immigration officers raided 350 slaughter houses which employ a large number of illegal workers from East European countries. Most of these men work for almost a quarter of the wages paid to an average German worker, who may cost his employer Euro 40 to 50 per hour.

If the current immigration statistics are any criteria, a substantial number of German workers are migrating to the "greener pastures" of North America and Australia, with rising unemployment in the country. Denmark has announced a series of new laws to curb the flow of asylum seekers.

Europeans are living longer, the birth rates are falling and with this "demographic revolution", it is estimated that there will be more pensioners than tax payers in major E.U. economies by 2030.

It is argued that Europe will need immigrants to sustain its economic growth and standard of living.

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