Britain and the EU
As we live in a global world it is obvious that people migrate from one country to another for various reasons and these reasons are changing because of the globalisation processes. People used to migrate because of wars, political instability or religion. Today people migrate because of economic, social, political and environmental reasons, inequality as well as to study abroad, learn new languages and explore the world or just for curiosity.
Taking Britain as an example of a country that is an attractive place to live, people are moving here from all over the world and Europe is not an exception in this case.There are many debates about Britain’s relationship with the European Union and the hottest debate is about staying or leaving the EU. In February this year after negotiations in Brussels there is more negative coverage of the European Union and Europe itself even though the Prime Minister David Cameron keeps trying to encourage people to vote to stay in the EU.
David Cameron has confused so many people as previously he clearly stated that Britain would be stronger if they left the EU and that a referendum would be needed in a democratic society to provide an opportunity for people to express their opinion on whether to leave or to stay in the EU. It seems like the government feels responsible for not giving Britain a chance to vote if Britain should have joined the EEC in 1973. The last referendum was held in 1975 when people voted on whether or not to stay in the EEC, just over 67% of voters supported the Labour government’s proposal to stay in. Conservative MPs and the UK Independence Party argue that referendum is essential and Britain needs to have a say because the EU has changed a lot since Britain joined it. The EU gained more control over British peoples’ daily lives, border control and legislation. British politics are losing their identity and becoming more European, so it threatens people.
Migration from Eastern Europe to Britain
As the EU referendum is approaching, there is much more negative coverage of the EU and its main issue – migration. It is obvious that people are moving between European countries because of the passport-free Schengen zone even though Britain is not a member. If Britain were to leave the EU, it would need to retain its border controls and checks. Citizens from other EU countries have the right to live and work in Britain as well as British people have the right to live in other European countries. According to recent studies EU migrants are net contributors to the British economy, so migration to the UK is not that negative as portrayed in the media.
One of the most negative aspects of migration is migration from Eastern European countries such as Poland, Lithuania or Latvia to the UK. Most of the interviewees have claimed to be named Russians or Poles without much knowledge about other countries in the Eastern block. Eastern Europeans are usually portrayed as jobless people that are coming here to live on benefits or take jobs from the British people. Apparently there are some people that come here only for social security reasons and benefits, however this claim does need to be supported by further investigation and statistics.
The fact is that people are moving and migration numbers started to increase in 2004 when it was the first enlargement of the EU. Ten post-communist countries from East Central Europe have also joined the EU. It is obvious that people were moving to the UK before these countries joined the EU. Migration numbers have significantly increased since 2009 when the world economic crisis hit East Central European countries.
Most of the people that are coming to live in the UK today are coming here for economic reasons – better wages, more opportunities, accessible education, career prospects, social guarantees, less crime and corruption. Migrants are trying to find jobs, willing to learn the language, make friends with people from other countries but it is much harder to make friends or build relationships with local people as their perception of Eastern Europeans is usually negative. Many believe that people are only coming to the UK to live on benefits or take their jobs but on the bright side there are also people that are happy to employ Eastern Europeans as usually they are educated, have specific skills and are experienced. Employers that have previously employed people from Eastern Europe claim that they are hard-working, responsible and aim to assimilate in the society and settle down.
EU referendum and its effect on Europeans
The situation in the UK is harder for migrants from Eastern Europe for various reasons. One of them is the EU referendum as there is so much negative information about staying in the EU and not enough in turn about the benefits of being a member. Clearly the media and press need to talk about subsidies for farmers, small and medium business, green network, education, women’s rights and human rights itself. Politicians are trying to threaten people by saying that if the UK stays in the EU, it would destroy the British culture and power as well as the economy. Yes, British politics are losing identity and becoming more dependent on the EU legislation and regulations but are politicians losing their identity just because of being a member of the EU? This question would raise much more issues for discussion and would certainly warrant another article!
Government claims that migrants have easy access to a free NHS system and benefits. But do most of the people come here for that? A lot of migrants are coming here to work or study or follow their loved ones. Looking at statistics, most of the Europeans speak two or three languages, so that certainly helps them to find a job or a place to live. Negative talks about the EU and upcoming referendum make the situation for migrants in the UK much worse. According to interviewees that recently moved to the UK, it has become more difficult to open a bank account, find a job or sign a mobile phone contract.
Today it takes more time and needs more documents to support your application than it was a few years ago. In order to open a bank account, you have to provide a proof of address by showing utility bills or a letter stating your current address whereas five years ago it was enough to bring an official letter stating your address written by a friend or landlord. In order to find a job, firstly you need to have a National Insurance number and secondly hold a bank account otherwise your employer won’t be able to pay you. So if you do not have a bank account you cannot apply for a job and if you do not have a job you cannot apply for a bank account. For some people it is like a closed circle and it is hard to get a job. It is hard enough to have a bank account.
A young lady working full-time at the local care home was struggling to sign a mobile phone contract as she needs to prove that she is living in the UK for at least three years and was requested to provide supportive documents. And it is not only about signing contracts or applying for loans, it is also much harder to get a maintenance loan to cover the living costs whilst studying in University. A first year Lithuanian student claimed that he applied for tuition fee loan and maintenance loan and then he was asked to prove that he has been living in the UK for at least three years prior to the start of his studies. A student was living and working in the UK for almost three years and was only short a couple of months but maintenance loan was denied. Keeping in mind that students have to repay the maintenance loan after their studies, there are no exceptions as this is enacted into the law.
Even though the situation is getting more complicated for migrants in the UK, according to recent negotiations between the UK and European Union, leaving the EU would only affect people without jobs who have been living here for less than four years. They would not be able to use free NHS services or apply for benefits. David Cameron has tried to achieve as much control over the benefits for the EU migrants and job seekers as possible stating that before taking the money out, a certain amount needs to be paid in.
The division of Europe
Europe is subdivided into Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Western Europe and as stated by the United Nations, these geographical divisions are only for internal reasons of the statistics. It should not affect or imply any assumptions in regards to political, economic or religious situation. Sadly the division of Europe is a sensitive issue in the UK as Europeans are usually divided into subgroups such as Eastern Europeans, Western Europeans and Northern Europeans that seem very attractive to British travellers. Even in the media or press migrants are divided into these subgroups.
A group of girls that were interviewed about their experiences as being recognised as Eastern Europeans living in the UK claimed that sometimes they pretend to be Northern Europeans. Norway or Sweden does sound much more socially accepted rather than Lithuania or Poland. Even though Eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004, people still think that these countries are part of Russia or have a strong impact from Russian regime and are not that well economically and politically developed. If you are German or French living in the UK you won’t face discrimination and racism in the same way as someone from Lithuania or Poland would face. A migrant from Eastern Europe is usually portrayed as a poor person coming to look for work and better life in an economically strong country. Sometimes these migrants are compared to the past migrants but the main difference is that they look different as they are white.
The government made it clear in its immigration policy that the door for Eastern Europeans opens for economic reasons as there are gaps in the low skilled sector that needs to be filled with cheap labour. According to the Home Office, “with an expanded European Union there is an accessible and mobile workforce already contributing to our growing economy, closing many gaps experienced by employers”. Obviously this statement can be used as prove that there is no discrimination against Eastern Europeans but there are plenty of positive and negative statements too. In the immigration policy migrants from the EU are implicitly favoured as being white migrants compared to the extension that unfavourable ones are non-white. In 2005 the Home Office officially advised migrants to be as much “economically active as possible, put as little burden on the state as possible” and also be as socially integrated as they can.
Migration from Eastern Europe to the UK might be a phenomenon but more or less it is the continuation of the older migration theme. There is nothing that would stop people from migration in this globalised world, so it might be worth a rethink as to what migration means to every one of us. Do not we have any migrants in our families?
Ieva Barauskaite
