Free Republic

Germany has tightened border controls with southern neighbor Switzerland to choke off a flow of illegal immigrants, Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer said, calling it evidence that Germany has withdrawn its welcome mat for migrants.

The German government proposed measures Wednesday to tighten migration regulations for citizens from elsewhere in the European Union amid accusations of welfare abuse by poor immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet was proposing a six-month limit on EU citizens staying in the country, which is Europe’s biggest economy, without a job. In addition, he said EU citizens suspected of having abused Germany’s welfare system can be banned from re-entering the country. “Freedom of movement is an essential part of the European integration, which we fully stand behind,” de Maiziere told reporters...

There is no evidence Spain broke EU law by imposing tight controls at its border with Gibraltar, the European Union executive said on Friday, urging both sides to act to ease bottlenecks that strained relations between London and Madrid. The European Commission sent inspectors to the British territory in September after Britain and Gibraltar complained to Brussels that Spain was applying overzealous border controls, causing long lines for workers and tourists entering and leaving the rocky outcrop near the tip of southern Spain. “The Commission has not found evidence to conclude that the checks on persons and goods as operated...

For years, the vast majority of politicians in the main parties have avoided having honest public conversation about the extent and consequences of immigration. The fear of appearing racist, or giving any ground to the arguments of the far right, has left most MPs and commentators in Pollyanna territory - extolling the economic and cultural benefits of immigration and glossing over problems. That has done the nation no favours, because the consequences of rapid social change have been scarcely studied, let alone addressed. And it has increased many people's distrust of the political universe, as the gulf between their own...