Immigration Laws: January, 2002 - Number #8

Anti-Terrorism. The EU Commission has proposed a common definition of terrorism and an EU-wide arrest warrant, as well as increased cooperation among national security forces and harmonized punishment for terrorism-related crimes. The EU included 32 crimes on the list for which EU-wide warrants could be issued, which prompted Italy to complain that crimes that had nothing to do with terrorism, including child abuse, fraud and corruption, could subject someone to an EU-wide search. After holding out for a week, Italy agreed to amend its laws so that the EU-wide arrest warrant could go into effect by 2003-4.

In December 2001, heads of EU governments agreed on a common definition of terrorism and common minimum penalties for those convicted of murder, kidnapping and hijacking whose intent is to intimidate a population or destabilize a country's political or economic structure. Many European countries have lived with domestic terrorist threats for decades, such as the Basque ETA group in Spain; ETA stands for Basque Homeland and Freedom, and its attacks have killed 800 over 30 years. It is not clear what effect the new anti-terrorist law will have on these domestic terrorist threats.

Germany and Spain are the European countries in which the September 11 hijackers received most support, and some fear there may be "sleeper cells" of terrorists in these countries. Spanish police were monitoring about 200 Arab migrants suspected of working with 20 Islamic terrorist cells. Spain's Muslim population increased from about 30,000 in 1985 to 500,000 in 2000.

The September 11 attacks prompted new anti-terror laws in most EU countries. Police in France gained new powers to search private property without warrants, and the German government loosened restrictions on phone taps and the monitoring of e-mail and bank records. Germany's Interior Minister Otto Schily, who represented German terror suspects in the 1970s, pushed for new powers to deter terrorism, saying, "The principle of protecting the people's personal data must not stand in the way of fighting crime and terrorism."

There are 15 million Muslims in Europe: most are guest workers or their descendents. Most are moderates, meaning that Islam does not dominate their lives, but many also feel like second-class citizens in Europe. Muslims in the Balkans - Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania - consider themselves the most moderate in the world. However, the Islamic charities that began to operate in the Balkans during the 1990s introduced a more austere and militant Islam that may attract disillusioned young people toward terrorism.

Enlargement. Heads of EU governments met in Laeken, Belgium in mid-December 2001 and agreed to convene a constitutional convention in March 2002 to reform EU institutions and make them more efficient, more democratic and more understandable to the average citizen by 2004, when 12 additional countries are expected to become EU members. Germany is pushing for a federalist system of EU government, which would likely increase its influence, since it has 20 million more residents than each of the other big three countries: UK, France, and Italy. The UK and France argue that the EU must be "states united," not a "united states," as Germany would like.

On December 15, 2001, the EU leaders backed away from a proposal to create a common border for the 15 nations, but said they still want closer cooperation on protecting external frontiers. They said that EU institutions must "define the mechanisms for cooperation between the services charged with guarding the external borders and studying the conditions in which a mechanism or common border guard service could be created." Several member states, including Britain, blocked the Belgian call for a common EU border guard.

The heads of EU governments at Laeken agreed that they must have an EU-wide system for dealing with asylum seekers. Countries such as Britain are pushing for a common policy, but Germany and Austria fear that a uniform standards may give them more asylum seekers. EU leaders told their home affairs ministers to propose Europe-wide rules on how asylum applications should be handled by April 2002, and to be prepared to implement an EU-wide policy by 2004. (http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/unit/immigration_en.htm)

The 15-member EU has a $90 billion-a-year budget and 18,000 employees. The European Commission has been given more authority to propose laws in areas such as immigration and asylum, but Commission-proposed laws need approval from the European Parliament as well as the Council of Ministers, which consists of cabinet ministers from each member country.

The EU lifted visa requirements for Romanians January 1, 2002. Nationals of all the Eastern European candidate countries can now enter the EU without visas, but Romanians wanting to visit an EU country must prove they have at least 500 euros ($446) and a return ticket.

Euro. The Euro arrived for 300 million Europeans in 12 countries on January 1, 2002. Most experts predicted more intra-European migration, as "price transparency" encourages Europeans to cross borders to take advantage of price differences of up to 20 percent on brand name items, from cars to prescription drugs. The largest note, E500, is worth about $225, and is expected to become a favorite of counterfeiters and smugglers.

Demography. The US Census Bureau released a report, "An Aging World: 2001," that noted that Italy has the highest share of residents ages 65 and older, 18 percent, giving it more retirees than active workers. By 2030, Japan is expected to overtake Italy, with 28 percent of its population older than 65. In 2030, some 20 percent of Americans will be 65 or older, making the US in 30 years like Florida today, where 19 percent of residents are 65 or older.