Clouds on the horizon for EU harmony
CROATIA has become the first victim of a shock referendum result in Switzerland.
A week ago, by a razor thin margin, the Swiss voted to sanction curbs on immigration from the EU in a move that has sparked concern across Europe.
European Commission president, José Manuel Barroso has warned of serious consequences, while there is consternation among the country’s business establishment — which is acutely aware of its dependence on skilled foreign workers.
At the weekend, it emerged that the Swiss government was scrapping a deal reached with Croatia, the latest country to join the EU, under which Croatian citizens would be entitled like other EU citizens to come and work in Switzerland.
The country’s justice minister, Simonetta Sommarugi, contacted her Croatian counterpart to inform her that her Government would not be signing a bilateral access deal allowing Croatians, over time, equal access to the country’s labour market.
What has shocked many is that the Swiss appear to be pulling down the shutters despite the fact that they benefit from one of the most prosperous economies in Europe. Unemployment stands at less than 4% while per capita income is around $45,000 (€32,863).
Some view this as yet another indication that Europe’s prosperous north is turning its back on the continent’s struggling economies, particularly those around the Mediterranean.
Many in the Brussels establishment view the looming European elections with something approaching dread. The Swiss referendum vote was driven by the Swiss Freedom Party which is right wing and anti-immigrant.
What appears extraordinary at first sight is that these prosperous people are turning with vigour, in the ballot box, against their business and political establishment. They may not be taking to the streets like the Greeks, but the message they are sending is roughly the same.
In France, the right of centre UMP party is losing votes by the shed-load to the Front Nationale under Marine Le Pen.
The newly sanitised Front Nationale is expected to perform well in local and regional elections as well as in the European vote.
The pattern will probably be repeated in the Netherlands and perhaps also in Italy where the comedian turned politician, Beppe Grillo, has so effectively harnessed the protest vote.
In Britain, the rise of the UK Independence Party has the Tories running scared, with prime minister David Cameron seeking a renegotiation of Britain’s relationship with the EU.
Matthew Goodman of Chatham House, the London based foreign policy institute, warns of the challenge of populist extremism, born in large part of public distrust of their governments’ handling of immigration.
Strident Euro sceptics could soon command between 20% and 30% of the seats in the European parliament after the May elections.
Responding to the recent referendum, Swiss economy minister Johann Schneider- Amman, pointed to the “loss of trust in the business and political elite” as the main reason for the vote. “It’s as if our citizens believe free markets do more damage than good.”
Amman conceded than over the years, the arguments of lobby groups have often held greater sway than those of ordinary citizens. In Brussels as well as in Switzerland, one might add. The economy minister has put his finger on it.
The power of lobbyists and privileged interest groups has grown to the point where a counter reaction is being set off, the consequences of which remain to be determined.
Europe’s frustrated citizens and striking out against the whole experiment in globalisation — we are not just talking about a few earnest students, here.
But the Swiss blowback is, in turn, generating its own counter reaction.
The Americans, in particular, are frustrated. Many business leaders are looking again at plans for investment in the country.
According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek: “Switzerland is introducing what would be one of the most dangerous experiments in the history of immigration reform.”
Some 20% of people living in the country are foreign nationals who comprise 45% of employees in Swiss pharma, chemical, and biotech industries.
One quarter of Swiss bank employees come from overseas. There are real fears about a decrease in the available pool of trained staff, although the immigration curb could take quite a while to kick in.
Ireland has benefited greatly from influxes of skilled labour from Europe which, in turn, offers plenty of openings for Irish people.
At the peak of the boom, over a four to five year period, around two thirds of those who completed the professional exams for architects were non-Irish, according to Margaret O’Flanagan, admissions director at the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland.
Since 1985, architects have enjoyed full recognition across the EU of their Irish qualifications. Six medical-related professions enjoy similar access to other labour markets. An EU directive on professional mobility has been in place since 2005. It applies to some 700 occupations such as ski instructor, or undertaker.
According to Damien Owens, registrar with Engineers Ireland, any engineer who feels that a restriction is being placed on them in another EU country, can go to the local professional body and have the matter dealt with in a prescribed period.
Local bodies can make reasonable demands on incoming engineers when it comes to upgrading skills, but they cannot act surreptitiously to deter them from practising.
A new EU directive will soon ensure that local bodies must act much more quickly to justify any restriction imposed.
Such moves have opened up a new EU wide labour market that should boost efficiency and cut labour costs over the long run, but local factors often serve to undermine this core EU goal. In the past, it was the Left which led the opposition to moves to free up the provision of services in the EU, another pillar of freedom of movement of labour.
Some trade unions were concerned at the prospect of East Europeans undermining established wage rates. Such concerns are well founded, though the rise of a unified labour market has certainly benefited consumers.
A recent European Parliament report by a Romanian MEP, Adina Valean, warned of the existence of significant obstacles to the exercise of citizens’ rights across the EU.
She pointed to requests for additional documents, undue delays in processing applications, and the application of language tests as examples of how rights under the 2005 directive on professional qualifications are being undermined, in her view.
The concern is that such problems at local level could grow as the climate grows more hostile to immigration from the South and East of Europe, and as more municipalities and regions fall into the hands of political groupings with an anti migrant, anti EU, anti establishment bias.
This, in turn, could further weaken the bonds that bind Europeans. Something to ponder as the 100th anniversary of the First World War approaches.
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