Europe Immigration News

Earlier this month, the European Commission published proposals to levy penalties against businesses in the European Union that engage in employing illegal migrants. The Justice Commissioner, Franco Frattini, cited an estimate that 7% to 16% of the European Unions gross domestic product is conducted 'off the books.'

Ireland's President Mary McAleese is on a four-day tour of Latvia and Lithuania, two of the Baltic States where tens of thousands of immigrants to Ireland have originated from in recent years.

According to a press release from McAleese's office, the tour is "expected to strengthen political, economic, cultural and educational links between Ireland and the two [Baltic] countries."

Immigration has played a major role in boosting Spain's growing economy. However, the country still faces problems with illegal immigration along its southern border.

According to a study by Caixa Catalunya, one the country's largest banks, the economy of Spain has grown at a rate of 2.6 percent a year over the period between 1995 and 2005.

On 10 May 2007, European home affairs commissioner Franco Frattini met with EU ministers responsible for integration in Potsdam, Germany to discuss the topic of cultural and religious integration of immigrants into the 27-member bloc. Over the next seven years, the European Union plans to provide €825 million to help provide solutions for the issue.

The Italian government recently passed a decree which, if approved by parliament, will ease the strict immigration policies that were approved by the previous conservative government.

Immigration reached record levels last year for the Northern European nation of Norway. In 2006, Statistics Norway (SSB) found that 45,800 immigrants arrived in the country and 22,100 people left, for a total net immigration of 23,700 people - 30% higher than 2005. Considering that it has one of the highest standards of living in the world, it should not be very surprising that people want to relocate to Norway.