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Europe have seen immigration numbers jump drastically, pushing some countries to undertake tighter border controls. On the social front, xenophobia is on the rise.   “Europe is too exposed, “open to the winds” of cheap imports from China and migration from Eastern Europe and beyond.” -Nicolas Sarkozy “It was always assumed that the rise of nationalism would be an awkward passing point that Europe would travel to en route to integration and greater stability.” -Matthew Goodwin, political scientist 30% to 60% of European voters believe there are too many immigrants in their country. There is a rising fear of a borderless Europe and the fear that immigrants are taking up valuable resources like jobs and housing. At a time when Europe’s economy is at its most vulnerable, market-driven reforms is just what they need. But the political climate has made such avenues hard to come by, as citizens pressure their governments to come down hard on immigrants and eradicate the so-called Un-Europeanization of Europe. There has also been calls to scrap the EU as some countries feel they are being pulled down by the rest. Lets take a look at the figures. In 8 European countries, 30% of young people are unemployed. However, what is more worrying is that the unemployment rate hit some countries more heavily than others. Germany’s 7.1% while Spain’s 20.1% and per capita GDP also have a heavy swing, from Bulgaria’s $6,300 to Luxembourg’s $104,400. With such drastically differing fortunes for European countries, it is not hard to see why the popular view nowadays is that economic gains of a unifies EU is not evenly shared, and this is giving rise to discontent. Critically, the immigrant issue is sandwiched into this argument on EU functionality. EU allows immigrants to freely move to different countries within the region. With no standard immigration policies shared among EU nations, some nations have went ahead to tighten their border controls while others have not for varying reasons. When certain countries tighten their control, this exacerbates the immigration problem for the countries who have not. (As the immigrants will naturally transit into countries that are easier to enter) This bring about discontentment among the masses, especially in countries which have seen an influx in recent years. The reasons for this discontent and xenophobia is simple. They believe immigrants bring about an erosion of cultural unity, increased crime and these non-westerners are threatening their way of life. And this is not just the war cry of a group of looneys. One can witness a rise of populist xenophobia on the fringes of European politics, and right wing movements are rapidly gaining popularity. Far-right Austrian political party Freedom Party is one example. And perhaps, more telling, is that Nicolas Sarkozy is priming his election campaign on winning the support of Marine Le Pen’s National Front, a party synonymous with anti migrant message. Whether or not Europe manages the immigration problem by assimilation or integration, it doesn’t matter. The citizens are not happy, and that is a fact. If the policymakers cannot find a solution to the perceived threat of immigrants, discontent will rise and right-wing politics will take centre-stage. But the perennial balancing act must also be achieved. 56 million migrants will be needed to offset the ageing population in the years to come. How is this going to happen in today’s climate? You can bet your last dollar everyone is thinking about that now. (Source: Time Magazine, “Border Control”, March 5, 2012)