Europeans want tests for immigrants
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Tony Barber from Brussels
MOST people in the European Union's five biggest member states think immigrants should be required to take a citizenship and language test to stay in their adopted countries, according to a Financial Times/Harris poll released recently.
Some 86 per cent of Germans, 83 per cent of Britons, 61 per cent of both French and Italians and 50 per cent of Spaniards regard such a citizenship and language test as necessary, the poll shows.
The survey's results appear to underline the concern across different western European societies at the rising levels of immigration from eastern Europe, north Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and farther afield.
The EU faces the prospect of even bigger immigration flows in the future. Some demographic experts calculate that, unless birth rates pick up substantially, the 27-nation bloc will need at least 40m migrants in the next four decades merely to maintain the European labour force at its present levels.
According to the poll, Europeans are also strongly in favour of introducing civics courses - lessons on how a country's democracy and public institutions work - into the standard national school curriculums.
Some 99 per cent of Italians, 92 per cent of Germans, 86 per cent of French, 84 per cent of Spaniards and 73 per cent of Britons support this idea.
Except for Germany, a plurality of respondents - ranging from 50 per cent in Britain to 42 per cent in Italy - disagree with the view that different communities in their countries should be allowed to abide by different laws, according to their cultural and religious identity.
The poll also produced some eye-catching results when respondents were asked about the extent to which they thought of their identities as regional, national, European or international (non-European).
France was the only country where more than half those questioned - 52 per cent - put their national identity first.
Only 15 per cent of the French thought of themselves primarily as European and only 13 per cent as having regional identities first and foremost.
In Germany, the results were in many respects the reverse. A mere 22 per cent put their national identity above other identities, whereas 36 per cent thought of themselves primarily as European and 24 per cent primarily in terms of their German regional identity.
Asked whether EU law should have primacy over national law in matters such as workplace conditions, immigration, competition and home affairs, the British were far and away those most opposed to the supremacy of EU law.
Some 58 per cent of the Britons who took part in the survey expressed opposition to the primacy of EU law. The next highest was Germany at 25 per cent, and the lowest was Italy at 12 per cent.
The FT/Harris poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive among a total of 6,226 adults in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the US and the UK between November 28 and December 7.
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Under syndication arrangement with FE
MOST people in the European Union's five biggest member states think immigrants should be required to take a citizenship and language test to stay in their adopted countries, according to a Financial Times/Harris poll released recently.
Some 86 per cent of Germans, 83 per cent of Britons, 61 per cent of both French and Italians and 50 per cent of Spaniards regard such a citizenship and language test as necessary, the poll shows.
The survey's results appear to underline the concern across different western European societies at the rising levels of immigration from eastern Europe, north Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and farther afield.
The EU faces the prospect of even bigger immigration flows in the future. Some demographic experts calculate that, unless birth rates pick up substantially, the 27-nation bloc will need at least 40m migrants in the next four decades merely to maintain the European labour force at its present levels.
According to the poll, Europeans are also strongly in favour of introducing civics courses - lessons on how a country's democracy and public institutions work - into the standard national school curriculums.
Some 99 per cent of Italians, 92 per cent of Germans, 86 per cent of French, 84 per cent of Spaniards and 73 per cent of Britons support this idea.
Except for Germany, a plurality of respondents - ranging from 50 per cent in Britain to 42 per cent in Italy - disagree with the view that different communities in their countries should be allowed to abide by different laws, according to their cultural and religious identity.
The poll also produced some eye-catching results when respondents were asked about the extent to which they thought of their identities as regional, national, European or international (non-European).
France was the only country where more than half those questioned - 52 per cent - put their national identity first.
Only 15 per cent of the French thought of themselves primarily as European and only 13 per cent as having regional identities first and foremost.
In Germany, the results were in many respects the reverse. A mere 22 per cent put their national identity above other identities, whereas 36 per cent thought of themselves primarily as European and 24 per cent primarily in terms of their German regional identity.
Asked whether EU law should have primacy over national law in matters such as workplace conditions, immigration, competition and home affairs, the British were far and away those most opposed to the supremacy of EU law.
Some 58 per cent of the Britons who took part in the survey expressed opposition to the primacy of EU law. The next highest was Germany at 25 per cent, and the lowest was Italy at 12 per cent.
The FT/Harris poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive among a total of 6,226 adults in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the US and the UK between November 28 and December 7.
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Under syndication arrangement with FE