Brexit 3

I'm sure the powers that be in Brussels are 'concerned' with the result of the vote in Berlin. What if merkel doesn't get in next year and the far right gain more power which is more than possible, then this could change the face of Europe dramatically.
There is a rerun of the election in Austria and a referendum on refugee numbers in Hungary ( next month)

Most of the youngsters who were in Dunkirk have now been taken to UK although there are now more getting there. The Calais camp has about 1000 young people and children there.

I think the government are between a rock and a hard place here. If they open the door to youngsters in Calais it will be a pull factor for parents to send their unaccompanied kids there, for people smugglers to make a fortune, it has to stop being an attractive option. The French should not have allowed this camp in the first place. The French police should sort out the violent gangs in the Jungle and deport them. They shouldn't allow these illegal migrants to travel freely through France. We shouldn't allow endless appeals from asylum seekers who arrive in back of lorries and who've been refused entry. Just building walls and beefing up security in Calais is not the solution.

I absolutely agree with you suzied, also perhaps if the French government would take responsibility for these unaccompanied children, they could be processed properly, their genuine relations contacted in the UK, with a view to taking responsibility for them. The ones who are either too old or whose relations are not genuine could then be hopefully looked after by France until they can be properly settled either in France or the UK. A forlorn hope I appreciate!!

Good post suzied the French having allowed the situation in Calais to escalate and indeed the free movement of illegal immigrants through their country, now seem to be unwilling or unable to regain control.

Brussels has approved Swiss plans to prioritise local people over forieghners for jobs in an agreement that could pave the way for a British deal on curbing immigration.
Not what some would want to hear but it looks like the eu are waking up and seeing which way the wind is blowing Re immigration.

I wonder how much bearing the Brexit vote has had on the EU's 'wake up' call.

Be interested in hearing more petra

Do you know why Switzerland have negotiated that?

I think they started this plan before the vote here but if they carry it through they will face some cuts to their trading rights etc. I cannot remember the details but I have seen several articles mentioning it.

Whitewave Because the region of Ticino ( which borders Italy) has over 60,000 workers coming over the border * every day* to work in Switzerland. There is high unemployment with locals so they have told the eu, we aren't having this anymore!
And good on them.

Yes 'good on them' indeed.

welshwife I don't think the eu will do anything Re trading rights. I think junker knows the game could be up if the eu doesn't change, and change drastically.
The Schengen Agreement no longer stands, the eastern block is far from happy, the Southern Europe countries are on their knees, the far right are likely to win the vote in Austria, the far right are gaining ground in Germany. Doesn't look good, does it.

I read that the Eastern EU countries are going to block any discussion of stopping the free movement of people. The business with the Swiss is not so simple and can't be compared to Brexit. These negotiations have been going on for years

Welshwife. Where have you heard that the Schengen Agreement no longer stands. Nothing has been voted on in the EU parliament and we still are not stopped when we go to France, or Austria or Poland or Hungary etc etc by car.

Not me that said that - it is the same when we go to Spain from France - it is Petra who said about Schengen

The eastern block can sabre rattle all they want, but they need us far more than we need them. Is it a coincidence that the eu have given in to the Swiss now ?

I watched Michael Potillo in Roumania/Transylvania last night - it is a wonderful country and completely bio! They still work their land in traditional ways and use no fertilisers or insect killers etc. it needs to really promote itself as a tourist destination .
The City looks as if it will be in a right mess if it doesn't get these passporting rights to work within the EU - glimmer of light might be that companies in the EU need rights to London too but I suppose that need would go if the banks move the vital bits to Frankfurt or Paris etc.

Welshwife. Your right about Romania. I know it very well as I lived only a mile from the border when I lived in Bulgaria. We have had many holidays there and can tell you that some of the scenery is astounding and the people are lovely. The country is coming on in leaps and bounds.

re the Calais camp - according to our local paper (in France) the french govt. is now putting a plan into action to empty the camp then close it down. The refugees are being bussed to various towns all over France, mostly in large groups. Young men together, women and children in other groups.
Many of the receiving towns are very angry about this, dreading it, especially for groups of frustrated young men, but legally can't refuse. Could be trouble ahead.

Wow Tricia- that will cause trouble - and violence even

It's all very easy for the UK to say Asylum seekers should stop in first country (Greece or Italy) - when they are the furthest away and most difficult to reach! In Europe, main border posts are manned - but here anyone can walk in and out without being seen - there are no borders in the woods and the meadows!

One wealthy small town in the German part of Switzerland was asked to take a small group of refugees- and the rich inhabitants (for a large % rich expats actually) - paid a large sum to the Swiss gvt so they could refuse ! !

It was shown here in the press that when they started the 'bussing' a couple of weeks ago that there were riots in Calais as they didn't want to leave.
It was reported that the new camps will only hold about 1,000 people, but the French people have seen what happened in Calais ( and Paris) that these camps will only attract more migrants.

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The Parisian Camps are very new compared to the Calais and Dunkirk camps. They have been moving people to their camps across France for a little while but I think that many of the people 'escaped' and returned to Calais.

To return to Petra's post about Ticino it seems to me that the problem isn't free movement of people; it is that the Italian workers accept lower wages. Problem is created by employers, not by the EU.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticino

Frontalieri, commuter workers living in Italy (mostly in the provinces of Varese and Como) but working regularly in Ticino, form a large part (over 20%) of the workforce, far larger than in the rest of Switzerland, where the rate is below 5%. Foreigners in general hold 44.3% of all the jobs, again a much higher rate than elsewhere in the Confederation (27%).[34] Frontalieri are usually paid less than Swiss workers for their jobs, and tend to serve as low-cost labor.[35]

Welshwife, what Richard Murphy thinks will happen about passporting.

www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2016/09/21/hard-brexit-is-likely-we-need-politicians-who-can-think-about-what-that-means/

And at least 8000 businesses in the UK rely on these passports