eu immigration pigs can fly

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European immigration

PIGS can fly

Some European economic migrants are more welcome than others

Nov 16th 2013 | From the print edition

AT FIRST glance, the scene in the courtyard behind the Journeys hostel in King’s Cross

resembles a gathering of backackers any!here in the !orld" #oung men and !omen

from $arious %uroean countries lounge on !ooden benches, rolling cigarettes, siing

beers and chatting" #et it soon becomes clear that, a air of bemused S!edes aside, they

are not tourists" Rather, they are immigrants searching for flats and &obs"

'ritish oliticians and the ress fret about Romanians and 'ulgarians, !ho !ill soon gain

the right to !ork in 'ritain" 'ut a far bigger migration is under !ay from the older

member states of the %uroean (nion" Since )*+* the number of nationalinsurancenumbers issued to southern and !estern %uroeans has shot u -see chart." For the ast

year more /old0 %uroeans than /ne!0 %uroeans ha$e !orked in 'ritain" #et these ne!

migrants are attracting little hostility" Their e1erience says much about 'ritish attitudes

to immigration in general"

http://www.economist.com/printedition/2013-11-16




(ntil recently, migrants from countries such as Italy !ere fe! in number and affluent,

says 'ee Se$ergnini, an Italian &ournalist based in 2ondon -!ho has in the ast !ritten

for The Economist ." 3ost came !ith &obs in hand, in 2ondon’s banks, hedge funds and

consultancies4 others came to study at 'ritain’s most celebrated uni$ersities" The )*++

census sho!ed that, like the French, Italian and Sanish migrants !ere most

concentrated in 5estminster and Kensington and Chelsea, 2ondon’s !ealthiest

boroughs" 3any others li$ed in 61ford and Cambridge"

The ne! !a$e is different" Southern %uroeans are mo$ing in artly because of the

oortunities 2ondon offers, but largely because of the ones that home does not" Jose

3aria Cagigal Soler, a )7yearold business graduate from 'arcelona, is tyical" 8e

mo$ed to %ngland si1 months ago after sending a year failing to find a &ob in Sain, booking a fe! days in a hostel" 8e then mo$ed into a shared flat in the %ast %nd -/It’s not



the best, for !hat it costs,0 he gries. and found !ork, first at a Costa Coffee and then at

2yca3obile, !here he fields in9uiries from fello! Saniards"

Some skilled immigrants are doing !ell" Sanish !eb de$eloers can command high

salaries4 Italian economists !ork in the Treasury" 'ut, like 3r Cagigal Soler, most ne!

arri$als tend to start out in oorlyaid !ork and li$e in the cheaer bits of inner 2ondon"

:etting rofessional 9ualifications aro$ed is e1ensi$e and finding good &obs takes

time" 5ork in the catering industry, by contrast, is lentiful" 'ritain’s Italian restaurants,

!hich ha$e long been staffed by eastern %uroeans, are once again hiring Italian !aiters"

Those !ho do not seak good %nglish or are other!ise oorly reared end u in the

grottier end of 'ritain’s informal labour market" Francesco ;on<o, a )=yearold Italian

!ho seaks e1cellent %nglish, says that the first &ob he !as offered !as in a hotel at >)=

-?7*. for an eighthour shift, about half the legal minimum !age" @aniela de Rosa of the

Italian ;ro&ect, a consultancy, !orries about dodgy agencies that romise to arrange &obs

for Italians in ad$ance and then fail to deli$er"

6ddly, the 'ritish either ha$e not noticed or do not mind this influ1" This may be because

the ne!comers are not $isibly cometing for ublic ser$ices" (nlike ;oles and

2ithuanians, Italian and Sanish !omen are not yet sending children to 'ritain’s schools"

3ost Sanish eole find the 8S baffling, says Jorge Rui<, !ho runs a Sanish

language blog in 'ritain" They tend to go home for medical or dental treatment" Though

some claim benefits, this is not easy, nor is the 'ritish !elfare system articularly

generous"

A big difference bet!een this migrant !a$e and many re$ious ones is that it is likely to

go out again" Fe! southern %uroeans e1ect to stay in 'ritain ermanently" The cost of

housing is too high4 the !eather is too miserable4 the ull of family and friends at home

can only be resisted for so long" If the euro<one economy reco$ers, many !ill return

home, their rBsumBs strengthened by a sell abroad" Indeed, one grou of similarmigrants is already less e$ident in 2ondon" (ntil a fe! years ago it !as hard to !alk

around Claham on a Friday night !ithout triing o$er drunk Australians" o! they

ha$e been relaced by Italians"

From the print edition: Britain



eu immigration pigs can fly

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