BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : FEBRUARY 28, 2000 ISSUE
INTERNATIONAL -- EUROPEAN COVER STORY Fortress Europe All European governments practice a policy of restricting immigration, though some are harsher than others AUSTRIA Already a hard-liner in letting foreigners become citizens, the new far right-conservative government in Vienna is wary about EU expansion to the East and wants to crack down on illegal immigrants. BRITAIN Prime Minister Tony Blair has eased administrative hassles for asylum seekers and has seen their numbers soar. The country also accepts about 60,000 family reunions per year for former Commonwealth citizens. DENMARK Pia Kjrsgaard and her Danish People Party would win 15% of the national vote on their anti-Europe and anti-immigrant platform. That's double their share of the last general election in 1998, according to a recent poll. FRANCE Lionel Jospin's Socialist government talks a lot about integrating immigrants into society but has not reversed its Gaullist predecessor's goal of a ''zero quota'' for new immigrants. GERMANY Europe's largest recipient of Balkan refugees also has given out 200,000 short-term temporary work permits to Poles and others as part of its Ostpolitik. But Germany still has rigid residency restrictions. ITALY Fellow European countries are criticizing Rome for laxity in patrolling its borders from an inflow of mainly Albanian refugees. Once inside Italy, they can move freely through most of the borderless EU. SWITZERLAND Took in asylum seekers fleeing Balkan conflicts. But xenophobic leader Christoph Blocher of the Swiss People's Party made big gains in national elections in November. DATA: BUSINESS WEEK _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Unsung Heroes (int'l edition) EUROPEAN COVER IMAGE: Unsung Heroes CHART: Where Europe's Immigrants Go TABLE: Showing Initiative TABLE: Fortress Europe ONLINE ORIGINAL: "There Are More Opportunities for Everyone" ONLINE ORIGINAL: Europe Must "Get More People of Working Age" INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

Copyright 2000-2009, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Use   Privacy Notice