Europe: in brief (3)
01 July 2003
UK border checks: Home Officer Minister Charles Wardle confirmed in reply to a written question that the UK intends to maintain border controls for "immigration checks on third-country nationals, together with adequate safeguards against the entry of terrorists and other criminals". The government was considering, he said, relaxing controls just at ferry ports with people simply holding up an EC passport or identity card. Immigration officers would however check "where there was any suspicion that the document was not genuine or that the passenger was not in fact an EC national". No date has been set for this to start. Hansard written answer 9.7.93.
The "acquis": a new term has crept into the terminology of the European Community, the acquis. This describes the instruments and agreements which countries joining the EC - like Finland, Norway, Sweden and Austria - will "be required to accept on acceding to the Community". The acquis covers matters like the legally binding Dublin Convention on asylum-seekers, the External Borders Convention, and the growing number of intergovernmental agreements which have signed by the 12 EC states.
Ombudsman: secrecy row: the Council, representing the 12 EC governments, has refused to agree to hand over classified document to the new EC Ombudsman as set out in the Maastricht Treaty and agreed by the European Parliament in June. MEP Jean Pierre Cot (Socialist, France) said: "The documents are freely handed over to Commission officials. It is scandalous that they should be denied to the one person directly looking after the public interest". EP News 21-25 June 1993.
Hungary: gypsies march: Over 1,000 gypsies and their supporters marched peacefully through the northern town of Egar during July. They were protesting against a series of attacks against them by neo-nazis based in the town. Anti-gypsy violence had been encouraged by an extreme right-wing grouping within the ruling Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) led by Stavan Csurka. Csurka has now been expelled from the MDF, following a power struggle, and announced the formation of a new party, the Hungarian Justice Party. The new party includes five MDF MPs. Ironically Csurka, who is known for his rabid anti-Communism, recently acknowledged that he agreed to act as a police agent for the communist government in 1957. Guardian 23.6.93 2.7.93; European 15.7.93.
Northern League gains in elections: The far-right Northern League has won overwhelming control of the north of Italy during mayoral elections held in June. Among the seats they won was Milan, where the League's Marco Formentini took 57% of the vote to be elected mayor. The League already controls over half of the council seats in Milan. They made alarming gains across the industrial belt that stretches from Lombardy into the Veneto, but lost in Turin where the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) took control. In Alassio where the Northern League's Roberto Avogadro was elected a decree was passed banning beach sellers from resorts on the Ligurian Rivieria. It has been criticised for bring racially motivated, as many of the sellers are African, and has provoked a backlash from beach proprietors who have refused to act as vigilantes. The Northern League is widely perceived to have benefitted from the corruption of the Italian political establishment. The PDS also increased its control in central Italy and made inroads into Christian Democrat territory in the south. Guardian 22.6.93; European 8.7.93.
Holland: ID document: The bill on mandatory identification passed the Second Chamber (ie. Commons) of the Dutch parliament in June. From next year, every employee must be able to produce an identification document (eg. passport, drivers license) at their place of work. People who have not paid fares on public transport must also have ID (they can be taken to a police station if they are suspected of giving a phoney name) and ID must be showed wh