Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Plumber?

The humourous Polish answer to previous

 French worries about ‘the Polish plumber’

by Rikke Brammer Buk

It takes time to really find your place in a new family. It takes time, before you are accepted as part of the family on an equal level and as an integrated member. And so, in the surroundings of an EU summit on immigration, Poland seems to have a hard time as one of the younger members of the EU family. One the first day of the summit, Poland was one of the few states to emphasize the fact, that the EU needs immigrants in order to keep its economy running. Prime Minister Donald Tusk pointed out that it is not only high-, but also the low-skilled workers which the EU needs, or at least that Poland needs. In response to this, French President Sarkozy flatly pointed out that Poland would not have that need, if it was not for the fact that all the Poles were coming to France and Germany. And so it would seem that being a member of the Schengen Area does not prevent you from being viewed as an “illegal immigrant” or at least as an unwelcome outsider.

In the light of Sarkozy's remark, one comes to think of the resent scandal-website created by The Party of Freedom in Holland. The site was created to provide a forum where Dutch people could complain about Eastern Europeans coming to Holland. One has to ask oneself how long it will take for the Eastern European member states to shake off their “Eastern-ness” in the eyes of their western neighbours. But also, whether we can allow ourselves to hope for a “migrant-centred” immigration policy as an ending to this summit, when we do not even like it when our own family members come to visit?

Sarkozy also made clear, that he still considers the possibility of pulling France out of the Schengen  Agreement in order let France control it own borders. And thus, Sarkozy has proven that he has taken his election-mode immigrant policies with him to the summit. At least, one cannot accuse him of being Janus-faced.