News Analysis - Adding Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union
WORKERS, JUNE 2006 ISSUE
As the scale of the influx of cheap labour following the gobbling up of eight eastern European countries plus Cyprus and Malta becomes clear, the EU Commission is to admit at least another two countries from 1 January 2007. Bulgaria, a byword for corruption and organised crime, will join Romania, slightly less of a basket case, in gaining admittance to the European Union.
The European Commission expressed concern that the nearly 200 contract killings that have occurred in Bulgaria, apparently with no successful investigations or prosecutions, were a threat to the rule of law! They have been told to show tangible results in prosecuting organised crime gangs and to be seen to do something about corruption, fraud and money laundering.
So although the Bulgarian Chief Prosecutor has said it would be impossible to produce prosecutions in a few months, Bulgaria may have to try to get just one prosecution before their case is reheard in October – but nobody believes they will be refused admission to the EU.
Romania, on the other hand, is deemed to be 'ready' to join. However, it has to show that it can properly distribute handouts from the EU to its farmers. Apparently it has no compatible IT systems that will enable it to control distribution of these payments. Not much different to Britain, then.
The British government has announced that it predicts that 56,000 migrant workers from these two countries will come to Britain for work. However, as their previous estimates for immigration from central and eastern Europe were incorrect to a factor of around one hundred, we could expect up to half a million. This would be at a time of increasing unemployment in Britain following the last wave of immigration by new EU states. Ruth Lea of the Centre for Policy Studies said in April "This month's unemployment figures show a rise of 30,000 over three months and 120,000 over the past year. Those are people who are really looking for jobs". "It's very clear that migrant labour has kept down wages and it is highly questionable that immigration has had no effect on unemployment."
Although the implications for Britain are potentially huge, based on our current experience, it would appear that neither the British Parliament nor the British people are being asked for their view on this decision. Tony Blair's newly appointed Minister for Europe, Geoff Hoon, told the nation in a television interview that this decision was best left to the unelected European Commission. This may seem incredible but it conforms to Blair's practice that the British people will not be consulted about these momentous changes that will affect our class and our lives for a very long time. No votes on the Euro, the EU Constitution, enlargement, control of borders or immigration.
Bulgaria and Romania are members of NATO, one of the unwritten conditions for membership of the EU. But they are strategically located in the Balkans and on the Black Sea coast. This makes them strategically important as the EU wants to annex the remaining countries of the Balkans and eventually Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia.
Already, most of the former Yugoslavia is under some kind EU/NATO occupation or administration, some already using the euro as their currency. If only that stubborn Serbia would stop refusing to join NATO or the EU, the fall – or "accession" – of the Balkans into the EU would be so much easier.