US embassy cable - 05BRUSSELS1239

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 BRUSSELS 001239 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/PRP; EUR/ERA; G/TIP; DEPARTMENT PLEASE 
PASS USAID/PPC/DCO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PREF, SMIG, PHUM, KWMN, EAID, ELAB, OSCE, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: MIGRATION, DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION: EU 
GRAPPLES WITH POLICY OPTIONS 
 
REF: BRUSSELS 0815 
 
 1. (U) At a two-day public hearing at the European 
Parliament, policymakers and experts exchanged ideas on 
harnessing international migration to help bolster European 
economies and populations.  Their overarching call was for a 
legal and transparent immigration program, at the European 
level, which adequately ensured for the integration of 
newcomers.  France outlined its success in reducing social 
tension caused by Islamic fundamentalists.  Other themes 
included managing migration to help developing economies and 
to protect vulnerable people.  Various representatives of new 
Member States called for the immediate free movement of 
workers within the EU.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------ 
Overview 
------------------------ 
 
2. (U) On March 14-15, the European Parliament (EP) held a 
public hearing on migration policy which brought together a 
wide range of experts.  In his opening remarks, Vice Chairman 
of the Development Committee Max van den Berg (Dutch 
Socialist) stressed that migration was "at the very heart of 
the interest of our countries and our citizens" and 
acknowledged the wide range of sentiments in Europe.  Like 
many speakers after him, Van den Berg listed the positive 
aspects of migration (foremost, a supply of young, dynamic 
workers), as well as problems stemming from the half million 
migrants who enter Europe illegally each year (e.g., 
trafficking, violation of human rights and exploitation, 
etc.).  He urged a European-wide policy to effectively manage 
migration and integrate newcomers. 
 
3. (U) MEP Patrick Gaubert (French Conservative), Vice 
Chairman of the Civil Liberties Committee, spoke of political 
sensitivities and lamented that migrants were frequently 
portrayed negatively during European electoral campaigns. 
Also highlighting the need for an EU role, he said that 
migration policies made by one Member State frequently 
affected others.  Moreover, Member States generally did not 
consider ramifications of their actions, whether it was 
granting an amnesty (i.e., Spain) or pulling the doors closed 
(i.e., Denmark, the Netherlands, UK, etc.).  Gaubert 
characterized "zero immigration" as a "myth" and said that 
Europe needed managed, orderly immigration flows to sustain 
its population and economy. 
 
4. (U) Speaking for the European Commission (EC), JHA 
Director Jean-Louis de Brouwer acknowledged Member State 
sensitivity in preserving national powers over immigration, 
noting that legal immigration was the only border management 
issue where Member States did not give the Parliament 
co-decision authority.  He reported that after an in depth 
analysis, the EC concluded there is no proof that opening 
legal channels of immigration will reduce clandestine 
movements.  Nonetheless, in January the EC launched a 
"massive consultation" in the form of a green paper to chart 
a way forward on legal immigration (reftel).  De Brouwer said 
that integrating migrants is a primary EU concern and that 
later this year the EC will issue practical guidelines on 
integration. 
 
5. (U) Luxembourg,s Director of Immigration Sylvain Wagner 
stated the presidency supported an EU approach to economic 
immigration.  However, he said that because each Member State 
had a different labor dynamic the final decision should rest 
with national governments.  (Note.  Luxembourg has one of the 
highest percentages of foreign-born residents in the world. 
End note.)  Wagner said transparent immigration rules could 
help reduce human suffering caused by clandestine travel and 
involuntary repatriations. 
 
------------------------ 
Migration and Development 
------------------------ 
 
6. (U) In his keynote address, Development Commissioner Louis 
Michel highlighted the positive aspects of migration, noting 
that it filled gaps in Europe,s employment market while 
reducing pressure on labor markets in the developing world. 
At the same time, Michel stated that development could help 
stem outbound migration by attacking root causes such as 
poverty, conflict, human rights abuses and corrupt 
governments.  He said that circular patterns of migration 
were ideal to best serve both the developing and developed 
worlds.  Michel came out strongly against an idea endorsed 
during the Spanish Presidency to make development assistance 
conditional on cooperation by beneficiary governments in 
stemming illegal emigration or transit. 
 
7. (U) Michel affirmed that development and security were 
complementary in nature, that development was the main 
instrument the EU had to eradicate terrorism in the long 
term. 
 
8. (U) Stefano Manservisi, Director General of DG 
Development, outlined five points that a forthcoming EC 
communiqu would make regarding migration and development: 
 
a) Remittances:  The EC will consider ways to facilitate the 
flow of remittances (currently estimated to be twice the 
amount donors provide in official development aid).  Among 
these would be proposals to lower transfer fees, to encourage 
private citizens to invest this money in development 
activities, and to extend access to bank accounts and credit 
with this money. 
 
b) Diaspora:  The EC will seek ways to better link 
expatriates with developing countries of origin.  Proposals 
might include facilitating the transfer of knowledge and 
credentials, encouraging temporary movements through better 
visa policies, twinning cities, universities and companies, 
and providing training in languages of origin. 
 
c) Brain Drain:  Manservisi said that migration often 
deprives the developing world of its most talented citizens 
and cited the figure of 10,000 doctors and nurses who have 
left sub-Saharan Africa in order to work in rich countries. 
The EC will consider proposing an internationally binding 
code of conduct which would focus on preventing a brain drain 
from particularly vulnerable countries and/or sectors (such 
as health).  To complement this measure, the EC might bolster 
wage levels in these countries by contributing to the 
salaries of health sector workers. 
 
d) Regional Mobility:  Manservisi noted that 80 percent of 
global migration is south-south in nature, including 20 
million sub-Saharan Africans who live outside their countries 
of birth.  He said that human resources could be better 
allocated by capitalizing on regional movements.  According 
to Manservisi, one region that could benefit from such 
movements is the Caribbean, where the supply and demand of 
labor is skewed.  He said the EC had allocated 25 million 
euros in 2005 to help developing countries better manage the 
south-south flows of migrants. 
 
e) Circular Movements:  Echoing his Commissioner,s word, 
Manservisi outlined measures that would help migrants return 
home after temporary work in developed countries, such as 
pension mobility. 
 
------------------------ 
Migration and Integration 
------------------------ 
 
9. (U) MEP Alain Hutchinson (Belgian Socialist) endorsed a 
proactive EU approach to migration policy because the need 
for immigrants was unavoidable.   "The future of our economy 
and our lives in the EU is at stake," he said, adding that 
the EU needed to better prepare Europeans for the inflows of 
migrants.  Stressing the human rights dimension, Hutchinson 
urged the EU to combat xenophobia, racism and exploitation 
(including substandard labor and housing standards). 
 
10. (U) France,s chairwoman of the High Council for 
Integration, Blandine Kriegel, defended her government,s 
approach to integrating foreigners from Muslim countries. 
She said that while the UK and the Netherlands responded to 
historic wars over religion by permitting freedom of 
conscience, France had adopted a strict neutrality of the 
state in matters of religion.  Blandine stated that current 
government policies were an effective response to the growth 
of Islamic fundamentalism, which often jeopardized the status 
of women.  She said that the law forbidding religious garb in 
schools had greatly reduced social tension in France. 
Currently, only 48 cases are unresolved, whereas previously 
there were thousands.  She lauded other initiatives of the 
French state, including the establishment of the Commission 
on Secularity, the High Council for Integration, the Council 
of Muslim Faith (with its oversight in training imams) and a 
Museum on Immigration.   Blandine noted that France is 
working with Morocco to revise its family code, which she 
said also sends a clear message to fundamentalists. 
 
11. (U) MEP Claude Moraes (British Socialist) warned that the 
EU faced a social crisis because it lacked effective 
anti-discrimination measures.   Referring to a recent 
Financial Times article entitled "France is warned on atom 
bomb of forgotten minorities," Moraes said that many EU 
countries ignored anti-discrimination measures that were on 
the books.  He called for a U.S.-style "green card" system to 
ensure transparency in managing immigration. 
 
12. (U) MEP Maria Matsouka (Greek Socialist) said that the 
rise of right-wing parties and general discrimination against 
migrants within the EU could provoke social conflicts.  She 
called for an information campaign to advocate a more social 
Europe and underscore the economic benefits of migration. 
However, Matsouka also cautioned about the harmful affects of 
migrants taking away jobs from older and unskilled Europeans. 
 
 
13. (U) International Labor Organization (ILO) migration 
expert Patrick Taran said that low-skilled migrants who 
engaged in "dangerous, dirty and degrading" jobs generally 
had no problem finding work.  However, these jobs often did 
not lead to superior opportunities for them or their 
children.  ILO studies show that first- and second-generation 
immigrants showed net discrimination rates of 33 - 41 
percent, even if their qualifications, educational 
attainment, skills and language abilities were on par with 
natives.  Taran recommended a legislative approach to prevent 
discrimination and said that some studies indicated a need 
for civil anti-discrimination legislation to allow the 
reversal of the burden of proof. 
 
Taran also urged EU governments to sign the UN Convention on 
the Rights of Migrant Workers, a suggestion that was endorsed 
by Peter von Bethlenfalvy of the International Organization 
for Migration (IOM) and Luis Miguel Pariza of the EU,s 
Economic and Social Committee. 
 
14. (U) Pariza noted that integration was a two-directional 
process which needed to take into consideration governmental 
policies and public opinion.  He recommended giving newcomers 
better orientation and language training, ensuring 
non-discriminatory access to health services and education, 
purging school texts of xenophobic content, and considering 
the establishment of a European "citizenship" that would 
extend rights to all EU residents. 
 
15. (U) According to Taran, Europe is currently reaping the 
results of poorly conceived migration policies of the 1960,s 
- 70,s which naively expected guest workers to go home.  He 
said that the discrimination suffered by second-generation 
Turks and Albanians in Germany was particularly troubling. 
Given current demographic trends, Taran predicted that the 
social and cultural landscape in Europe in 30 - 50 years will 
be very different. 
 
16. (U) A member of the UK Parliament warned that imposed 
multi-culturalism could backfire, nurturing resentment and 
hostility among native citizens.  He advocated an immigration 
policy that placed immigrants in regions which needed 
workers.  To illustrate, he said that while southeast England 
is overloaded with immigrants, other parts of the country can 
effectively incorporate newcomers without profoundly changing 
the cultural landscape. 
 
------------------------ 
Economic Benefits of Immigration 
------------------------ 
 
17. (U) According to IOM, effective migration management can 
contribute to "maintaining and increasing the overall 
economic growth, the functioning of the internal market and 
EU competitiveness."  IOM said that it shared the EU,s 
interest in steering immigration flows towards legal channels 
while contributing to satisfying the economic and social 
needs of EU destination countries. 
 
18. (U) Caritas Italiana expert Franco Pittau said that over 
one million immigrants had entered Italy last year and that 
migrants make the EU a more dynamic and prosperous place.  He 
said that of the 600,000 domestic workers in Italy, about 
500,000 were foreigners (and of this number 40% had degrees). 
  He recommended raising Italy,s quota for immigrant 
workers, noting that there were twice as many applicants this 
year by employers than the existing 159,000 slots. 
 
------------------------ 
International Protection for Special Groups 
------------------------ 
 
19. (U) UNHCR,s Chief of Mission Judith Kumin acknowledged 
that asylum had a high political profile in the EU but 
lamented that it was generally cast in negative terms.  She 
reminded states of their legal obligations and said that 
international protection was in danger of being eroded if 
asylum seekers were seen only as illegal immigrants.  She 
lauded the ambitious Hague Program for its determination to 
create a single EU asylum system by 2012 and for its focus on 
the external dimensions of asylum.  Kumin also urged the EU 
to expand formal refugee resettlement programs, a concept 
endorsed by the EP.  In closing, she praised the EU as "the 
key player in the international system" and said that the EU 
set a positive example for the rest of the world to follow. 
 
20. (U) MEP Martine Roure (French Socialist) highlighted the 
problem of trafficking in women and complained that the EU is 
doing nothing "to free them from the grips of the mafia." 
She said that victims of trafficking were still being treated 
as criminals, despite EU measures put in place to protect 
them. 
 
------------------------ 
Eastern European Views 
------------------------ 
 
21. (U) Krisztina Berta, Hungarian Secretary of State, 
pointed out the responsibilities new Members States face in 
patrolling the EU,s eastern border.  She also noted the 
large number of ethnic Hungarians currently living outside EU 
borders, as well as the "huge impact on domestic policies" 
they exert.  She took pride in Hungary,s functioning asylum 
system, put into place before EU enlargement in response to 
the great flow of Balkan refugees during the 1990s.  Berta 
said the Hungarian government was working to pass a 
comprehensive, single law to deal with asylum.  She noted 
that while overall the number of asylum seekers has dropped 
(in line with global trends), the number of migrants has 
increased since EU accession.  Because Hungary is facing a 
population decline, as well as the emigration of its own 
young professionals, Berta welcomed the EU debate on legal 
immigration. 
 
22. (U) However, Berta noted the irony of talking about 
immigration from third countries when citizens of most new EU 
Member States are still not allowed to work freely in Western 
Europe.  MEP Danute Budreikaite (Lithuanian Liberal) called 
for an end to the seven-year transitional period imposed on 
new Member States designed to protect western labor markets. 
MEP Toomas Savi (Estonian Liberal) also called for the free 
movement of laborers within the EU.  He said Estonia,s three 
migration policy priorities are:  a) full Schengen membership 
by the fall of 2007; b) readmission agreements with Russia 
and China to stem the flow of undocumented migrants from the 
east; and, c) visa free travel for Estonians to third 
countries on a basis of reciprocity. 
 
23. (U) A member of the Poland,s national Parliament (who 
declared he had been an illegal immigrant in Europe 25 years 
ago) made a strong pitch for the EU to end its visa regime 
for Ukraine, Belarus and Balkan countries.  He said that 
migrant laborers from those countries could help the EU 
secure its "Lisbon Strategy". 
 
------------------------ 
Comment 
 
24. (U) Discussions about migration in the EU increasingly 
focus on the positive economic aspects.  Certainly, this is a 
welcome development.  However, failure to hear from die-hard 
skeptics (no far-right MEPs attended the EP hearing) or the 
growing immigrant community that does not wish to be 
integrated, undermines a true debate.  The ILO expert,s 
succinct analysis that "there is a high degree of 
ambivalence, if not schizophrenia" about migration in Europe 
is spot on.  According to a study released by the EU,s 
Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia at the time of the 
EP hearing, over one quarter of the EU,s population resists 
a multicultural society and a growing majority (about two 
thirds) believe that there are limits to multiculturalism. 
 
25. (U) The June voluntary visitor program on integrating 
migrants and resettling refugees will afford European 
policymakers a close-up view of the U.S. model during this 
critical moment of debate in Europe. 
 
MCKINLEY 
.