Italian Minister wants young away from the country

Giuliano Poletti is in charge for Social Policies, but he prefers not to work on social issues

Giuliano Poletti

Opinions

«I know people who went away and it is fine they stay where they are, because surely this country will not suffer from not having them around anymore». The Italian Minister of Labour and Social Policies, Giuliano Poletti, sparked critics and complaints for his statements on young people leaving Italy in search of jobs and better living conditions. He could clarify better, by saying That indeed between dealing with skillful people and bad guys, the second option is preferable and even better for the good of the national system. If this concept can be desumed by the minister's statement and perhaps even agree with him in line of principle - albeit in the controversial formulation of such a concept - it is unacceptable to listen to a member of a government speak in such a way. It's up to the government promoting policies for social inclusion. It means that when certain nationals are the kind of people they can be defined as "bad guys", it is duty of national authorities to invest on them in order to convert these people in "good guys". The blame game is an easy task, especially when it comes to escape personal responsibilities. In this case, Poletti "forgot" that he is in charge for Social Policies, so it's up to him to search and rescue the lost sheep, to tell the story in religious terms.

Not later than three weeks before of Poletti's statement, the Italian government had in place a large-scale campaign to bring all the Italians living abroad to vote at the referendum on the Constitutional reform proposal. Poletti's misstep sent a counterproductive message from the Italian government. Italians abroad only count in time of elections, after vote they come back to the general indifference or, even worst, to the general disdain of politicians. This something harmful both for the public opinion and for politics. Italians living abroad, all those who left the country in search of what their own country wasn't able to provide, will be no surprised in listening they are not welcome. In somehow, they got nothing but a confirmation of what they already knew. What is really unacceptable is a minister who prefer to blaim a part of society instead of working on it, and a government which prefer to defend such a minister instead of asking for his resignation. But that's Italy, after all.

Western Sahara reaffirmed as being no part of Morocco

The European Court of Justice confirmed what already said in September by the advocate general. EU-Morocco trade deals not applicable beyond Morocco

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by Emanuele Bonini

Western Sahara is not part of Morocco. Once again the European Court of justice (ECJ) affirmed this principle, by issuing a judgement on the EU-Morocco trade deals. Basically the ECJ made clear that the EU-Morocco trade agreements are not applicable to Western Sahara, as it is not part of Moroccan territory. Similarly, the Liberalisation Agreement «must be interpreted [...] as meaning that it does not apply to the territory of Western Sahara», read the judgement. Politically this is a strong message to the Moroccan kingdom, which has been claiming its sovereignty since the end of the Spanish colonial era.

This judgement doesn't mean any official recognition of Western Sahara a state or sovereign entity by the EU side. On the contrary, the European Court of justice ruled out such a possibility. The EU body based in Luxembourg simply recalled what is the situation of Western Sahara: despite the Sahrawi people self-proclaimed the territory as an independent State under the name of Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in the 70's, Western Sahara is still on the list of non-self-governing territories in accordance with the UN Charter, and was clarified that it isn't possible draw the consequences of the status of Western Sahara under international law as regards the inapplicability of the Association Agreement to that territory.

«Full job integration of migrants takes two decades»

A study from the European Commission called to invest on asylum seekers asking to speed up the process despite public opposition

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by Emanuele Bonini

Bad news for the decision makers and the public opinion: a proper and full integration of a migrant into the labour market can require from 15 up to 20 years, according to a report published today. In times of anti-immigration sentiment, the latest annual review of Employment and Social Developments in Europe (ESDE) contains warnings that could be misused by those who predict the end of national traditional societies because of the foreigners. According to the report issued by the European Commission, «it takes more than 15 to 19 years in the host country for refugees to reach parity with the native-born in terms of employment rates». Having an asylum seeker completely integrated takes time, and the European Commission called the Member States to invest on migrants by promoting integration policies. It would be key for both social cohesion and security, but it is unclear whether national governments can invest more than a decade on those that the public opinion would like to see returned to their country.

Looking at what has been happening in Europe since the outbreak of the migration crisis, it is easy to guess that the difficulties related to the full integration of migrants will offer more than one argument to the far-right parties. Fences and walls are under construction everywhere in the EU, from Hungary to France. The EU-Turkey deal on migration was reached with the aim of stopping the flows of asylum seeker coming to Europe. So, investing on migrants takes time and, as a consequence, takes money. That's true especially at the beginning, when third-country nationals have to deal with the most difficult barrier: the language. «Those refugees whose language skills are low or non-existent on arrival improve their employment chances significantly by acquiring more solid host-country language skills», stressed the ESDE review. Early investment in the language skills of refugees «may actually be one of the most cost-effective instruments» to enable them to capitalise fully on their existing formal qualifications.

May still in troubles with Brexit six months after vote

Downing Street in search of a strategy and a meaning of leaving, according to the London School of Economics

by Emanuele Bonini

Everything will start in March 2017, or so it should. All the rest is nothing but an activity covered by mystery. Call it work in progress if you wish, but the substance will not change at all. Six months after the UK referendum which saw British people vote for leaving the EU, Brexit still remains a leap in the dark, according to the London School of Economics (LSE). On the occasion of the event «Britain and Europe: toward Brexit?» organized in Brussels the prestigious university put in light the great difficulties of the British administration in dealing with the practical consequences of the outcome of the referendum. According to the academic world there are at least six big issues to be addressed by Theresa May's government, and none of them still has an answer after six months.

No strategy. Julia Black, the Pro Director for Research at LSE, and Robert Saunders, associate professor responsible for EU-UK relations, admitted that after six months in London they still have not idea of what to do. «The previous government had no contingency plan» in case of a Brexit vote. David Cameron was basically betting everything in what he thought could happen but finally it didn't come out. Theresa May, current prime minister of the Unidet Kingdom, «will have not only the responsibility of negotiating Brexit, she will also have the even bigger duty of redefining the entire British strategy with the rest of the world».

No meaning for Brexit. Perhaps the main biggest issue. «If it is clear what citizens voted against, it is unclear on the contrary in favour of what citizens expressed themselves», pointed out the two academicals.  What does Brexit mean, in practice? That is the question the British government have to answer in order to understand what to ask when time of reshaping ties with all the other 31 Countries (the 27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) will come. Does Brexit mean more immigration? Less immigration? Just the participation to some targeted EU programmes? And which ones? That's the real rebus for Britain.

A EU large-scale profiling operation against migration

Ministers for Internal Affairs reached a controversial agreement for a revision of the Eurodac database. The draft regulation to negotiated with the Parliament

by Emanuele Bonini

Migrants like serial killers? The Council of the EU is ready to start a large-scale profiling operation as response to the migration crisis. It is only about negotiating with the European Parliament, but the controversial decision has been taken: Europe will keep files on asylum seekers arriving in EU territories. The position of the Member States was reached today during the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council. Ministers agreed to recast the Eurodac database in a more comprehensive manner: in addition to fingerprints, according to the draft proposal it will made compulsory the collection of personal data such as names, surnames, nationality and pictures.

The Eurodac database, which was established in 2003, is an EU asylum fingerprint database which provides fingerprint evidence to assist in the application of the Dublin Regulation, which determines the Member State responsible for examining an asylum application made in the EU. Ministers today agreed a common approach to adapt and reinforce the Eurodac system in order to expand its scope, with a view to facilitating returns and helping tackle irregular migration. On the basis of the position of the Council, besides collecting an additional biometric data - facial image, it will also allow member states to store more alphanumeric data in Eurodac, such as names, dates of birth, nationalities, identity details or travel documents of individuals.

The decision is questionable, raising concerns as regard privacy, the storage and the treatment of the information, as well as the legal aspect of the new regime. Basically the Council of the EU is authorising nothing but a measure comparable to a criminal profiling.

Erasmus programme for workers starting in 2017

The European Commission announced the launch of ErasmusPro, the new initiative for the exchange of young apprentices

by Emanuele Bonini

Young students of work, go ahead! Starting from 2017 the European Commission will activate Erasmus Pro, the new programme for the mobility of apprentices and trainees. Finally the EU executive body will launch the real Erasmus programme for workers, an initiative sponsored already during the previous legislature by Antonio Tajani, in charge for Industry and the entrepreneurship under the Barroso Commission. The idea was to reproduce the well known EU project of student exchange in a new model thought just for the labour market. No the dream comes true.

Until today small period of apprentices abroad have been financing through Erasmus+, the14.7 billion Euro catch-all framework programme for education, training, youth and sport. Next year  the Commission will launch "ErasmusPro", a new dedicated activity within the Erasmus+ programme to support long-duration (6-12 months) placements of apprentices abroad. In addition to the current 650.000 apprentices that will benefit from mobility under Erasmus+, in the period 2017-2020 these measures will open up the possibility for 50,000 additional young people to spend at least 6 months of their learning experience in another Member State, compared to the much shorter period (1 month on average) registered so far.

The Erasmus programme for workers will be financed by the EU funds. In addition to the already EU-level financial allocations, on 14 September 2016 in the context of the mid-term review of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014–2020, the Commission proposed to increase the budget of Erasmus+ by €200 million. These new extra money will be used for the new initiatives such as ErasmusPro

EU-US division over Cuba troubles transatlantic ties

Europe pushed for further cooperation with the island, widening the gap with the American administration, where Trump is ready to restore the embargo

by Emanuele Bonini

The European Union and the United States divided over Cuba. While the US president elected Donald Trump announced the intention of reconsidering Obama's thaw by restoring the embargo, Europe went forward in its process of political and economic normalization with the Cuban authorities. The Council of the EU gave green light yesterday to the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Cuba, a new deal aimed to reshape the bilateral relations. Although it is an important and historic moment, the agreement could pose problems in light of the transatlantic partnership, considered at stake after Donald Trump's victory.

EU-Cuba relations
The political dialogue and cooperation agreement, the first ever agreement between the EU and Cuba, will constitute the new legal framework for EU-Cuba relations. It foresees an enhanced political dialogue, improved bilateral cooperation and the development of joint action in multilateral fora. The agreement comprises three main chapters on political dialogue, cooperation and sector policy dialogue as well as trade and trade cooperation. The agreement will be signed and concluded as a "mixed" agreement. This means that on the EU side, it must be signed by both the EU and the member states, and ratified by all relevant national and regional parliaments. The agreement will be applied on a provisional basis, pending ratification by all of the member states. Provisional application will concern the provisions of EU competence.