Summer without a break

Who says nothing happens in summer? In Italy, there is a major political crisis that could result in early general elections in the autumn. In France, the government has discreetly adopted the controversial Hadopi law on digital piracy. Across the border in Germany, the Minister of Finance is considering the reintroduction of immigration selection procedures, while autorities in Bucharest are asking Romanian immigrants not to return home, because there is no money to pay for their retirement or unemployment benefits.

And the intense activity is not only confined to Europe’s member states. Brussels is busy preparing for the application of enhanced cooperation in the regulation of divorce — an initiative that has largely passed under the radar of the European press, which will enable couples with partners from different member states to choose the jurisdiction for their divorce. To date, 14 countries (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia) have agreed to apply the agreement, which had been bogged down for five years, and will now concern approximately 13% of more than one million divorces granted in the EU every year. So where there is a will, there is a way.

A few days ago, Eurostat announced that we are now more than half a billion Europeans, and immigrants from non-EU countries, who account for just 4% of the European population but 60% of its growth, have made a major contribution to the crossing of this threshold. Although there is no denying the importance of this precious resource for the European economy (and for European pension systems), immigrants remain a target for populist politicians intent on appealing to prejudice, which is why we urgently need to introduce common European legislation on this issue. The question is will Europe’s politicians manage to give up one of their favourite political footballs?

Iulia Badea Guéritée