France sends back 24,000 immigrants in 2006

[Ruth]

So, the Sarcophagus is sending all those who can see through him, or are not useful to him, back home then?

I wonder if its true that any country that is a member of the European Union can be 'invaded' by people from its fellow European countries, just because they have a European passport? I wonder if that is feasible?

If Germany wanted to 'invade' France, they could, just by sending lots of Germans to live there permanently. If France wanted to 'invade' Britain, all they'd need to do is have large numbers of French people catch a train, plane or boat.

And if Britain wanted to 'invade' Spain all people would have to do is take a permanent holiday, instead of a temporary one.

I wonder how the respective countries of the European Union 'control' this type of people power if what used to be separate countries no longer have borders that force people to stay within them. There must be some other sort of control happening here? A population that can just get up and move is a dangerous variable that governments would want to control.

 

[Miss Isness]

I wonder how the respective countries of the European Union 'control' this type of people power if what used to be separate countries no longer have borders that force people to stay within them. There must be some other sort of control happening here? A population that can just get up and move is a dangerous variable that governments would want to control.

It's actually not that simple, as far as I can see. There are still language, and cultural barriers. Furthermore, I don't know about all European countries, but I can definitely say that in Italy family bonds are much stronger than they are in the U.S.. Beating the system through the strength of the family has long been a way of life in Italy. Why would someone want to relocate to another country where they don't have that kind of family support, are looked upon suspiciously by people of another culture, and they have difficulty communicating? It seems to me that only people who are extremely dissatisfied, or people who have a concrete opportunity would do such a thing.

I suppose that in the case of drastic climate change, it could become an issue with people from a certain European country being displaced. However, at this point the most significant migration seems to be from eastern Europe to the west due to lower wages, and in some cases quality of life, in the east.

More significant, however, is the huge influx of people coming into Europe from Africa, Bangladesh, the Middle East and India. It's gotten to the point where if things keep going like they are now, the Italian population will be completely replaced by immigrants in the not too distant future as a result of both immigration and a low Italian birth rate.

There have been government subsidized incentives for child birth in Italy, but a lot of Italian women are fed up with having all the domestic responsibilities, and having to work outside the home as well. It's easier for them to stop having children than it is for them to get their parteners to do their fair share. One of the reasons that some Italian women choose to have children despite the obvious lack of parity in their relationships with men is that the extended family often takes part of the burden, providing childcare and financial support, but what will happen when there is no longer an older generation adhering to traditional roles?