EU immigration: A Coast Guard and a crackdown on prostitution's "origin regions"
The EU-wide Rapid Reaction Force didn't work out, but perhaps an EU Coast Guard has a future. DefenseNews.com reports that a joint force among the Mediterranean states might be in the works, according to Just Commissioner Franco Frattini. He does say that it's "national coast guards" who will "participate jointly in operations," so it doesn't sound integrationist. (Euroskeptics can rest easy and Euro-idealists can hope for the day when the coast guards realize the benefits of conglomeration.) I saw it first on EU Referendum.
Apparently, the number of asylum-seekers worldwide has decreased recently, and the UNHCR blames EU immigration crackdowns, particularly in the south. As EU states seem to be more welcoming of Latvians and even Polish plumbers than Africans (though perhaps not much), the UN calls for "a more consistent approach" in EU states. We'll see.
Immigration, though, is of course a significant EU concern, now that the internal borders have ceased to matter when it comes to travel. Frattini said a few days earlier that visa requirements might be stepped up during the World Cup in Germany - but only for travelers from countries that tend to be an "origin region" for prostitutes. Prostitution is legal in Germany. The list - this could be uncomfortable - could include candidate states Bulgaria and Romania.
Reuters:
"I cannot give you a list because I don't like to blame or shame states as origin countries. But you know very well, in the eastern dimension of Europe, there is an origin region for prostitution," Frattini said.
"In Latin America there is a region, in the Sub Saharan Africa, unfortunately, and in Asia there is a region of origin."
An EU official told Reuters that Bulgaria and Romania -- due to join the 25-member bloc in 2007 or 2008 -- were amongst the countries which could be affected. Bulgarian and Romanian travellers do not currently require visas to enter the EU.
Apparently 1 million soccer fans will be in town ("mostly men," Reuters observes), and local brothels just want to keep up with demand. Officials, of course, just want to make sure the "help" is there voluntarily.
Apparently, the number of asylum-seekers worldwide has decreased recently, and the UNHCR blames EU immigration crackdowns, particularly in the south. As EU states seem to be more welcoming of Latvians and even Polish plumbers than Africans (though perhaps not much), the UN calls for "a more consistent approach" in EU states. We'll see.
Immigration, though, is of course a significant EU concern, now that the internal borders have ceased to matter when it comes to travel. Frattini said a few days earlier that visa requirements might be stepped up during the World Cup in Germany - but only for travelers from countries that tend to be an "origin region" for prostitutes. Prostitution is legal in Germany. The list - this could be uncomfortable - could include candidate states Bulgaria and Romania.
Reuters:
"I cannot give you a list because I don't like to blame or shame states as origin countries. But you know very well, in the eastern dimension of Europe, there is an origin region for prostitution," Frattini said.
"In Latin America there is a region, in the Sub Saharan Africa, unfortunately, and in Asia there is a region of origin."
An EU official told Reuters that Bulgaria and Romania -- due to join the 25-member bloc in 2007 or 2008 -- were amongst the countries which could be affected. Bulgarian and Romanian travellers do not currently require visas to enter the EU.
Apparently 1 million soccer fans will be in town ("mostly men," Reuters observes), and local brothels just want to keep up with demand. Officials, of course, just want to make sure the "help" is there voluntarily.
posted by bp at
8:16 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home