Europe diary: Class system

[justjohn]

9 February 2006

In his diary this week, BBC Europe editor Mark Mardell discusses Western European restrictions on Central and Eastern European workers, the complexity of the Services Directive, and gay rights in Poland.

The diary is published every Thursday.

PREACHING SOLIDARITY

The Polish boss of the "house of skills", a management consultancy based in Warsaw, used a phrase I haven't heard in a good while. "The common market", he said. "There has been talk of a common market for so many years but where is it?"

After our main interview was over I was chatting to him about Polish feelings about the ban on people from the old communist states of the east coming to live and work in the rest of the European Union, which is in the news again because of a commission paper. Only Britain, Sweden and Ireland allow the "free movement of people" that is one of the European Union's most important principles. His verdict: "We're not angry, just disappointed after the initial welcome".

The commission's paper argues the three countries that allow eastern immigration have done well out of it, and others should follow suit. But most won't. Although France, Germany and the rest have until the end of April to make their minds up, most will continue to hold their noses. They can keep the ban for another three years, and then two years after that if they can prove it would seriously harm their economies. Maybe they are resisting a much-needed breath of liberal fresh air, maybe they are sensibly protecting their own workers but either way it does make you wonder why their politicians allowed the eight former communist countries into the EU in the first place.

There is an annoying tendency in some countries for politicians to climb on to an extremely high horse and preach piously about "European solidarity" at the drop of a hat. But it doesn't seem to conflict with treating people from the eastern part of the EU as second-class citizens with different rights to the rest of us. The Czech Republic is already threatening that if the ban is not lifted, it won't allow workers from Bulgaria and Romania in when they join. So then there would be third-class citizens as well. How many classes by the time Turkey joins?

SECRETS AND SERVICES

I was actually in Warsaw to talk to the businessman about a rather different push to open up the European Union's economy. The words "Services Directive" now make me feel slightly sick. It's been around for five years now but its only in the last few weeks that I've got to know it well enough to feel on "tu toi" terms.


HAVE YOUR SAY
I admire the Poles for their confidence in expressing their beliefs

Will Turner, Cambridge
I'm a Pole, 20-year-old student of English philology. I'm going to get a degree and leave my country... not because I hate it but because I'm shedding tears for it
Lux86, Suprasl
As a former toiler in the Westminster vineyard I'm no stranger to struggling with complex regulations and policy briefings but the services directive is slower than most to give up its secrets. The problem is that there are so many exemptions and exceptions it's impossible to decide what it will mean in practice.

Will health services be included? Supporters say they were never meant to be, but they'll tighten up the legislation anyway to make sure they're definitely excluded. Opponents say that won't do the trick as health comes under social services which are included. And so on. When eventually this becomes law I'm sure it will be in the courts in no time. The lawyers will benefit before business people.

POLISH FRINGE

No reaction that I can see in Warsaw to Peter Mandelson's speech firing a shot across the bows of the Polish government. The trade commissioner warns "core European values have come under attack" with the success of fringe parties in the Polish elections. In Brussels doubts about the ruling Law and Justice Party have grown since its pact with two other groups. These are the League of Polish Families, which is hardline conservative, Catholic and nationalist, and Self Defence, a populist peasant party keen on national identity and state money.

Their dislike of the EU may account for much of the queasiness in Brussels. But Mr Mandelson is probably also thinking of Law and Justice's ban on a gay rights march and the League of Polish Families' skinhead youth movement, which is violently anti-homosexual. Some artists are reported to be worried their freedoms will soon be under attack. As an infrequent visitor to Poland it is difficult to judge: if you know the country well or live there, tell me is the new power bloc sinister or blame-free?

Story from BBC NEWS:
news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4696204.stm

[hanna]

justjohn said:

Only Britain, Sweden and Ireland allow the "free movement of people" that is one of the European Union's most important principles. His verdict: "We're not angry, just disappointed after the initial welcome".

Finland is ending the transition period at the end of April -06. All Poles welcome! ;D

(Spain and Portugal, too, in case one prefers warmer climate..)

[Jaga]

Hanna,

I would be the first to come (if I could). I love Finland !

[bescheid]

Hanna

We are just recovering from a solid month of rain here in the Pacific North West (USA), and right at this moment, Spain has a nice ring to it....

This is a Pacific coast area, and as so, the ground lay out is of constant small hills, a person is either climbing, or they are descending.

The ground has been so rain saturated that there has been some very serious property relocation by hill side slippage.

Charles

[hanna]

admin said:

Hanna,

I would be the first to come (if I could). I love Finland !

Aaaww... . And you´ve been here before and you survived ;D. Finland can be a bit of a culture shock for many. Some things here has even me, a native, drop my jaw when they happen... "Mommacarrying", very restricted body language, swamp-soccer, kids that can barely talk with their own mobile phones etc.... ;D

But seriously I wouldnt mind a flock of Poles coming, would make things more interesting with more people. We are only 5 million here....

[hanna]

bescheid said:

Spain has a nice ring to it....

I LOVE Spain! I lived in Barcelona for a year some time ago. Fantastic city! Small but dense, lots of nationalities, international but vith a deep sense of nationality (Catalan identity), very dynamic..just a buzzling place where you think you can do anything.

Great place when you are young. (Costa del Sol if you like more to lay in a hammoc and sip sangria and listen to Brittish accent next door)

Too bad Barcelona has gotten really expensive lately, rents are almost the same as in Helsinki nowadays.

Pacific North West..is that Seattle..San Francisco? I was there one November. Yes it was raining.

[bescheid]

Hanna

We live in Edmonds, it is a suburb of Seattle, not too far from the Canadian border. Some people say it rains here all the time, this is not true, we had three dry days last year...Only jestting......actually the last few years has been very nice. The weather here is very moderate as the Pacific Ocean is very close and a large range of mountains close by.

You know, I think it would be a toss up for either Spain or South of France..not sure, if my rathers were good, I think perhaps my choice would be certainly Spain.

Your area of Finland. In my minds eye, I imagine your area of north forest of aspen trees and areas of bog with cold winters and snow.

What is it like in your area?

Charles

[hanna]

bescheid said:

Hanna

We live in Edmonds, it is a suburb of Seattle, not too far from the Canadian border. Some people say it rains here all the time, this is not true, we had three dry days last year...Only jestting......actually the last few years has been very nice. The weather here is very moderate as the Pacific Ocean is very close and a large range of mountains close by.

You know, I think it would be a toss up for either Spain or South of France..not sure, if my rathers were good, I think perhaps my choice would be certainly Spain.

Your area of Finland. In my minds eye, I imagine your area of north forest of aspen trees and areas of bog with cold winters and snow.

What is it like in your area?

Charles

I went from the US across the border to Canada a couple of time when there, saw Victoria Island and climbed the mountains in Vancouver. Its quite pleasant, all of the region on both sides of the border. It actually reminds me of Finland in terms of scenery, but everything is BIGGER ;D. Trees, landscape, people..everything is a bigger scale heh. Interesting new library you have in Seattle.

Finland is called the country of forests and of the ten thousand lakes. This describes it quite well.
It belongs to the coniferous zone, only in the very south in small pockets you have lush zones of oak and other leaf tres as entire forests. Birch forests exist, but mainly its pine and some spruce. Bog is like a swamp?..there are some in Lappland in the north. More lakes than swamps down here.

Early autumn

The weather; you freeze your butt off in winter -20 C (better stay inside the houses are well insulated) and people are quiet only to lighten up to Koskenkorva (vodka) or karaoke. Then summer comes +20-25 C and everybody goes crazy after the winter, and the cities are full of happy people on café terrasses, lounging on the grass in the parks, looking like they were on drugs. Then in late July they get fed up with all the socializing and retreat to be quiet again in their lone cabins on the shore of one of those ten thousand lakes. There they go to sauna and skinnydipping and drink more Koskenkorva.

Early summer
Late summer
Bearable winter


November
Basically;
Dec-March =winter(snow, light for only 4 h/day, cold, bearable if winter is your thing, you can go skiing and walking on the ice outside Helsinki)
April-May=spring (sunny, small green things on the plants, spring flowers, wet snow)
June-August=summer (nice)
Sept-Oct =autumn (all plants get red colours, leaves fall, darkness comes creeping, but still bearable)
November =horrific wet snow and rain, dark

virtual.finland.fi/Nature_Environment/

[piwo]

bog is like a swamp?

Yes, that is a good description.