A Labour senator and resident of The Hague’s working-class Schilderswijk district, Adri Duivesteijn, has deplored the stigmatisation of his neighbourhood, in the wake of a Trouw investigative feature, which reports that the area has become a hotbed of Salafism.

In an interview with the newspaper, Duivesteijn responds to concerns about the special rules – such as bans on smoking and girls wearing short skirts – that radical Muslims have imposed in some of the neighbourhood’s streets.

The Dutch have yet to reach a stage where they recognise that society has fundamentally changed. We have not yet accepted that society is coloured. When you have a dominant culture in a certain area, it naturally develops its own customs.

“If you don’t leave Greece by end of June, there will be carnage,” reads a letter written on official letterhead of the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party sent to the Muslim Association of Greece. Officially, the party denies any involvement, “but only a few believe it”, notes Gazeta Wyborcza.

Government sources report attacks on foreigners in Greece reached an all-time high in 2012, with 154 incidents recorded. Human rights organisations estimate the real figure is much higher.

An expert quoted by the Warsaw daily explains that -

Tired Greeks look for causes of the crisis, and this party Golden Dawn provides them, blaming poor economic condition of the country on foreigners or Muslims”.

“Germany’s population is shrinking and aging,” reports Handelsblatt on the eve of a summit on demography organised by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The daily points out that the number of residents in the country declined from 82.5 million in 2003 to 81.7 million in 2011, and this figure is expected to fall to 65 million in 2060.

If Germany does not take action, the workforce will shrink from 50 million to 42 million by 2030. The business daily notes that “Economics Minister Philipp Rösler is counting on immigration” to resolve the problem. For her part, Angela Merkel is expected to call on companies to continue to provide training for older employees.

“Three quarters of families who want to adopt a child refuse outright to take Roma children”, regrets Romania liberă, after studying the data published by the National Office of Adoptions for 2012.

The Romanians who get “beyond the prejudices”, like the teacher posing on the daily’s front page alongside her “darker-skinned” daughter, are rather an exception. “Romanians are racist”, openly admits a pastor who has adopted two Roma children.

These prejudices persist due to “deficiencies in education”, Cristina Neacşu, psychologist of the Romanian Office for Adoptions, tells the paper:

[the families who want to adopt] come here with preconceived ideas. We tell them that there's no gene for crime or aggression. Others are afraid that the child up for adoption will be stigmatised.

In 2012, of the 1,222 families who were accepted as prospective adoptive families, 875 stipulated in writing that they wanted only “Romanian children, excluding any other ethnic group”.

“The statistics show that the Romanians prefer to wait for years for the state find a compatible child rather than adopt a Roma minor,” notes România liberă.

A total of 1.08 million people, including 966,000 foreigners, moved to Germany in 2012. The highest figure since 1995, reports Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which headlines with “Immigration to Germany reaches record level in 2012”.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, immigration increased by 13 per cent when compared to 2011. Most of the immigrants were from Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

German authorities expressed their delight with the figures: “This influx represents an enormous opportunity for everyone concerned, because the new wave of immigrants is younger and better trained,” declared the Minister of Labour, Ursula von der Leyen.

In spite of the numbers arriving in the country, tens of thousands of vacancies, notably in the healthcare sector, have yet to be filled. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung explains that the shortfall will soon be addressed by “new employment regulations, set to come into force on July 1, which will facilitate the immigration of specialised workers,” and also open the labour market to non-EU citizens.

The countries of central and eastern Europe, as well as southern European states hard hit by the crisis, are the major sources for migrant labour in Germany. As El País explains —

… the bulk of today’s migrants come from eastern Europe. But the largest upsurge is in the numbers arriving from countries affected by the euro crisis: notably Spain (31,145 in 2012), Greece (34,109) and Portugal (11,762). […] The main countries of origin from within the EU are Poland (176,000), followed by Romania (116,000) and Bulgaria (59,000).

Italy is not far behind: more than 42,000 Italians emigrated to Germany last year, notes Il Manifesto, whose front page compares Germany to “Lamerica”, the America that inspired the dreams of late 19th Century emigrants. According to the communist daily the influx —

… is an advantage for Germany, which has a declining population and needs to renew its workforce. However, for the countries of the South, which spend on the education of the young graduates who make up the bulk of the migrants, it represents a loss.

This success is largely due to the efficiency of the German Federal Employment Agency, explains Mediapart —

… the Bundesagentur für Arbeit publishes hundreds of thousands of vacancies on its website, which is accessible in several languages. It also seeks out workers on foreign labour markets, which have been devastated, and organises delocalised job centres.

However, the French news website notes —

Access to the new Eldorado requires a certain effort [...] Along with a mastery of the language, which is indispensable for those in search of skilled jobs, there are other obstacles to moving to the country […]: the non-recognition of certain qualifications, the fact that many employers, and in particular SMEs, are reticent about recruiting foreigners, and administrative barriers for low-skilled jobs. The reality can even prove to be disappointing, in particular for the many graduates of universities in southern countries, who have to put up with precarious part-time work and the absence of recognition for their degrees.

In a feature entitled “SOS Brussels”, Le Soir worries that the city, which is “a cultural melting pot, is unable to cope with its diversity.” The daily adds that “with 75.6 per cent of its citizens from immigrant backgrounds, the population of the capital is three times as mixed as the one in Wallonia, and five times as the one in Flanders.” Foreigners are expected to account for 83 per cent of the city’s residents in 2023.

Sociologist Corinne Torrekens is quoted by the daily pointing out that —

Brussels is an increasingly cosmopolitan and multicultural city. However, this reality is often perceived as problem rather than a source of cultural wealth. Brussels continues to be an ethnically segregated, and there is a world of difference between the quality of life in districts inhabited by expatriates and EU civil servants, and working class neighbourhoods where most of the population is from immigrant backgrounds.”

Sixty detained asylum seekers have been refusing to eat and drink in a Rotterdam prison since May 6, in protest at the “inhumane detention of refugees”.

A week ago 20 asylum seekers in a detention centre in Schiphol also began a hunger strike, with 10 still refusing to feed themselves.

The main reason for the protest is the difference in the treatment of asylum seekers on the basis of how they arrive in the country. Those who arrive by plane are incarcerated, sometimes for more than six months, while those who arrive over land borders are not.

The UNHCR and the organisation for refugees VluchtelingenWerk argue that the incarceration and treatment of refugees at Schiphol is more severe than is permitted under international law.

Switzerland decided on April 24 to extend, for a year, its quota system on long-term work permits to all citizens of the European Union (with the exception of Romanians and Bulgarians who are already subjected to a transition period). The measure is scheduled to come into force on May 1. It follows quotas on short-term work permits imposed in April 2012 on the so-called EU-8, citizens of Eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004.

"The EU regrets" this decision, runs a headline in Swiss daily Neue Züricher Zeitung. By extending the restrictions to the so-called EU-17, Bern is ensuring the application of "the safeguard clause" provided for in the bilateral treaties signed with the Union in 1999. This safeguard clause caps the delivery of work permits at 53,700. Yet, notes the newspaper –

If the Federal Council [Swiss government] hoped to escape criticism for discrimination in applying the clause to the 17 other European Countries, this failed to convince Ms Ashton [the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs]. According to her, [Switzerland] continues to discriminate between member states, which is intolerable.

Meanwhile, Swiss daily Le Temps reckons that this measure "does not ruffle the EU's feathers". Yet, the paper calls the move "migratory cosmetics," which may reassure Brussels, but not the Swiss people –

This decision can be sold to Brussels for three reasons. Switzerland respects its contract with the EU. The system avoids discrimination between Europeans. It applies only to long-term permits, which reduces its impact. [...] To think that the Swiss can be thus reassured seems quite naïve. Because they are not stupid, they will see that the migratory pressure from Europe will not be truly reduced. [...] The Swiss can understand, as they have already shown, that European immigration – which is favoured with good reason over that from the rest of the world – makes the country more prosperous.

Several thousand members of the Labour Party (PvdA), including a number of mayors, and members of the PvdA youth section, the Young Socialists (JS), have announced their opposition to government plans to initiate criminal proceedings against undocumented migrants.

The protesters have launched a petition, and plan to raise the issue at the party congress on April 27. In particular, they will demand that party leader Diederik Samsom, “drop the project, and change course to re-establish the fundamental principle of the party, which is ‘the right to a decent life’”.

The daily explains that the measure to criminalise migrants was part of a package agreed last autumn by the members of the ruling coalition, the PvdA and the VVD led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte. In exchange for the measure the PvdA succeeded in imposing a ban on the deportation of minors.

“In recent years, the crisis has not only led Europeans to rein in their appetite for consumer goods, it has also had an impact on their desire to have children,” points out the daily.

According to the European Commission’s latest quarterly report on the social situation on the continent, following an increase from 1.46 to 1.6 children per woman between 2002 and 2008, the average fertility rate in the EU declined to 1.57 children per woman in 2011.

“This latest development is a serious blow for countries which already had low fertility rates,” notes Tomas Sobotkan, a researcher at the Vienna Institute for Demography, who is quoted by the newspaper.

The British government is considering a plan to require schools to check the immigration status of their pupils, reveals the daily.

According to a chain of leaked emails, the policy proposal is being evaluated by the inter-ministerial group (IMG) on migrants' access to benefits and public services.

The Guardian claims the emails

suggest that the group considered banning illegal immigrant children from schools. However, the civil servants [from the Department of Education] warned that the UK would be in contravention of article 28 of the UN convention on the rights.

”More than 120,000 Britons have signed an online petition asking Prime Minister David Cameron to do something to prevent a mass immigration of Romanians and Bulgarians", reports Gândul, ahead of the 2014 deadline when restrictions on labour market access are to be lifted in some EU countries.

According to this call launched via an e-petition on the official website for electronic petitions addressed to the UK government, the possible imminent arrival of Romanians and Bulgarians would be similar “to the one that granted access to around 600,000 Polish immigrants to enter Britain over recent years.” Once the restrictions are lifted, the petition goes on “all newcomers will entitled to claim benefits, housing, child, job seekers etc.”

Back in January “Gândul” responded to news of the idea of launching a UK advertising campaign in Bulgaria and Romania to deter potential emigrants, by launching a humourous counter-campaign aimed at the British, “Why-don-t-you-come-over”. The campaign spread widely across Romanian social networks and attracted enormous international attention.

In its 23rd anniversary edition, Público draws a portrait of "a country in danger of dying of old age, in a Europe in demographic decline."

In 2012, 90,026 babies were born in Portugal and 107,287 people died. The net Portuguese population therefore fell by 17,261, a depressing record that the daily suggests demonstrates the level of crisis shaking the country, where fear of the future leads young couples to have only one child and forces many people to emigrate.

In the last five years, 300,000 to 400,000 people left the country and Portuguese women had on average only 1.3 children.

A record 244,000 immigrants from the East, mainly the Ukraine, came to Poland to work legally in 2012. But that is not enough, writes the daily, stressing that according to a report by the Energy-Europe Foundation, “in order to avoid depopulation, 5.2m people must come to live in Poland by year 2050.”

“We need them but we don’t know how to keep them for good,” laments Rzeczpospolita quoting Prof. Krystyna Iglicka, a demographer and author of the report. In her view, Poland is not an immigrant-friendly country as immigrants find it difficult to obtain permanent residency rights and work permits.

Most recent immigration to the Flanders region of Belgium comes from the Netherlands followed by Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, according to figures released by Flanders Region Integration Minister, Geert Bourgeois (N-VA). This is a shift from previous trends which recorded significant immigration from Turkey or Morocco. As "integration lessons" are not obligatory for citizens of the European Union, less and less immigrants are taking the classes, the Belgian daily notes. The minister regrets the decline because he believes that without a knowledge of Dutch, it is almost impossible to find work.

The Labour Party’s Minister for Social Affairs declared in an interview that “anyone who comes from another country and wants to register as a resident of a Dutch municipality should sign a participation contract.”

For Lodewijk Assher, this means, “new arrivals will demonstrate a commitment to Dutch fundamental rights and the rule of law.” The contract, which is set to supplement an integration test that is obligatory for non-EU migrants, will also concern the EU nationals, but only on a symbolic level since EU citizens have an automatic right to live anywhere in the Union. As a general rule, the minister remarked that “the free movement of people without any assessment of problems that it may cause will undermine social rights in Europe.”

Foreigners may face fresh curbs on access to benefits, healthcare, housing and legal aid in an effort to stop Britain being seen as a "soft touch" overseas. UK Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered ministers to draw up plans to tighten entitlement rules for all migrants from across the EU as strains over immigration policy begin to show among elements of the governing Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.

Right-wing Conservatives have expressed fears of an influx of migrants from Romania and Bulgaria when restrictions limiting their working rights lapse at the end of the year.

At €200bn per year, Germany is the European country that spends the most on family aid. But despite this effort, the birth rate continues to decline.

A government study shows that this aid is wasted, explains the weekly, which believes more should be invested in childcare and educational initiatives.

"It would be just as radical a turning point as were the labour market reforms of the Agenda 2010," which took place under the leadership of Social Democratic Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, says the magazine.

"Fertility rates have fallen for 15 European countries – based on 22 studies and other work – between 2008 and 2011," concludes a study by the Vienna Institute of Demography as reported by Le Figaro. The crisis in Europe is hitting the birthrates of the Old Continent hard, especially in the southern countries of the eurozone, observes the newspaper, adding that this is one conclusion that is final.

The crisis in Europe is having a direct and profound impact on birth rates, which have plunged in Greece (1.43 children per woman), Portugal (1.35), Spain (1.36) and Ireland (2.05).

The French newspaper distinguishes between France and Germany, which are the two exceptions in Europe, but for different reasons. Even when European fertility rates were showing strong growth in the three boom years before the crisis,

Germany never experienced a rise. France also stands out for its fertility rate, which rose from 1.8 to 2 in 10 years, despite the crisis, thanks to a generous family policy.

The Vienna Institute warns of the risk that the populations of Greece, Spain and in Portugal will fail to renew themselves:

In a worrying development in Greece, the number of abortions went up by 50 per cent in 2011, while in Portugal the number of births fell to 90,000 in 2012 – its lowest point in 60 years.

Le Figaro's correspondent in Spain notes finally that

if nothing changes, the country could lose more than 10 per cent of its population over the next 40 years.

Will the EU be bringing back the visa requirement for nationals of the western Balkans? On France and Germany’s initiative, six member states of the EU want tighter controls on migrants arriving from Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania.

Among these countries is Sweden, which has taken in more than 34,000 asylum seekers since the start of the year, including 5,276 Syrians. Most, though, are from the Balkans. The position of the centre-right government has divided the Swedish press.

Liberal daily Dagens Nyheter notes that in these last eight months “more asylum seekers have arrived from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, where visas are no longer needed to get into the EU, than from Syria, which is going through a civil war.”

“Many asylum seekers,” the newspaper explains –

... are Roma, who suffer harsh discrimination in their country of origin. Because almost none have valid reasons for obtaining refugee status, less than one percent are allowed to stay in Sweden. [...] It may seem cynical to erect barriers to Roma. [...] The priority, after all, is to provide shelter to people fleeing the bloodshed in Syria and the war in Afghanistan. [...] There may be better solutions, but what is essential is that the EU demands and makes a contribution to social equality, especially regarding the Roma. Serbia, Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina are candidates for accession to the EU. This is a chance to put some pressure on them… Sweden and the EU cannot take in everyone who is treated badly (at home). But we can make tough demands that all people be treated well.

Aftonbladet, for its part, stresses that “the visa exemption for the western Balkans, which was introduced in 2009 and 2010, has been a great success.” For the historically social-democratic daily –

The exemption offered freedom, but also sent an important political signal. The western Balkans are part of Europe and are welcome in the European Community. It is therefore alarming that [Immigration Minister] Billström is now open to the idea of suspending the visa exemption. Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt was quite right when he raised the issue of visas last week. ‘Such signals whip up the nationalist forces in the Balkans,’ he stated, ‘and that is not something that is in our interest.’ Aftonbladet’s editorial page seldom agrees with Carl Bildt, but in this case he knows what he is talking about. Billström should listen.

“They are leaving and not coming back”, headlines Gazeta Wyborcza on the rising number of Poles going abroad in search of better jobs. 2011 alone saw 60,000 more people leave for the UK, Germany and Norway than in the previous year. The Warsaw daily notes that –

The number of emigrants has risen for the first time since 2007. There are currently 2.6 million of them […] Emigration grew despite the fact that economic growth in Poland reached  4% of GDP.

A rather unexpected shift considering the fact that after the first crisis wave hit Europe in 2007-2008, many Poles (up to 1.1 million according to some estimates) were forced to return to Poland with some economists even declaring “the end of emigration”. Not quite so. Attracted by much higher salaries, Poles are still flocking abroad. According to the Central Bank of Poland (NBP), the average Polish emigrant earns between €2,000 and €2,200 compared to less than 2000 zlotys (€500) back home. Experts quoted by the daily stress that even in times of crisis Poles feel more secure abroad than at home –

Not only are they not coming back, they even start taking their families out of Poland.

"Some 3,000 sub-Saharan Africans waiting in Morocco to try to get into Spain," leads the ABC daily following the agreement between Rabat and Madrid that puts an end to the migration crisis caused by the arrival in recent days of 83 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa on Spain’s Isla de Tierra, an uninhabited island "smaller than a football field" lying some thirty metres off the coast of Morocco. Under the agreement, ten immigrants were welcomed by Spain, and the others were landed in Morocco.

To avoid giving a "breath of fresh air" to the mafias who engage in human trafficking from the rocks along the Moroccan coast and enclaves under Spanish sovereignty (the Chafarines Islands, the Rock of Vélez de la Gomera, and the Alhucemas Archipelago), the Ministry of the Interior "wants to send the message that landing on a tiny North African island or rock belonging to our country does not assure passage" to Spain, writes the newspaper. 

The agreement with Morocco comes as pressure builds on the borders of the Spanish enclave of Melilla, where on 3 September some 160 migrants tried to climb the border fence, ABC adds –

The gate is open once again [...] Experts consulted say there are an estimated 3,000 sub-Saharans waiting for their chance to get into Spain through the various border points with Morocco.

"Following the controversy over the dismantling of Roma camps, the government wants to provide guarantees of appeasement," says French daily Le Monde. Criticised for its repressive policies toward the Roma – essentially Romanians and Bulgarians – the government has adopted a more flexible attitude. Responding to the demands of groups that aim to improve the precarious situation of the 15,000 non-French Roma living in France, it was decided, the newspaper says –

to lift 'interim measures' – requiring a job permit and an employer tax reference – that restrict access to the job market for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens, where most of the Roma in France originate. Job access remains limited to 150 sectors with shortages.

Other European Union countries introduced similar measures (they are still applied in Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Malta, United Kingdom and Luxemburg) in an effort to protect themselves from possible flooding of the job market. The measures are applied to all Romanian and Bulgarian citizens, of which about 10 per cent are estimated to be Roma.

As to whether the measures will work or not, Le Monde looks at experiences in Spain and Italy where the interim measures were lifted –

For some, the lifting of restrictions was like becoming documented, says the academic [Grégoire Cousin, a specialist in Roma immigration]. But for others, police monitoring became more frequent, "employers continue to pay them off the books." Lifting the interim measures in France should, therefore, not "change very much for the most precarious," says Mr Cousin. However, it could help "heads of families" and the most resourceful. 

“There has been hardly any reaction to the midsummer deportation of the Roma”, writes Le Monde. Two years after the wave of emotion that swept Europe in response to a similar deportation campaign conducted by France, the daily wonders why the recent evacuation of numerous Roma camps notably in Lille, Lyon and Paris has been greeted by silence. Nor has there been any outcry over the first ever deportation charter flight to Romania, which was used to transport 240 Roma on August 9.

The French daily notes that the reaction was limited to a small number of voices in “left-wing parties and civil society who timidly responded to the interior ministry initiative” by pointing out in his decision to apply judgements authorising deportation, President François Hollande has broken an election promise “not to expel Roma families who have not been offered alternative housing”.

Le Monde goes on to compare the French President’s position with the one adopted by his predecessor, which was roundly criticised at the time –

In the summer of 2010, a speech on the Roma delivered by Nicolas Sarkozy in Grenoble [in which he pledged to dismantle half of France’s illegal Roma camps] met with widespread indignation. However, today most left-wing figures have remained remarkably silent” on the issue.

For Le Monde, the feeble response is “in part” due to “political divisions in the government” and a hesitant civil society that is unsure how to react.

The Greek authorities have dubbed the initiative "Zeus Xenios" (Zeus, the protector of hosts). For Ta Nea, it will amount to a “massive drive to reduce illegal immigration”. On August 4, more than 4,500 police were mobilised in downtown Athens and in Evros, on the Turkish border, which is one of the main entry points for illegal immigration to Europe. “Some 4,900 people were were questioned and 1,130 were were placed in detention centres,” reports the daily, which explains the goal of the first in a series of such similar operations is

to intercept illegal immigrants and to organise large numbers of repatriations. According to estimates from the Ministry of Citizen Protection, approximately 5,000 will be placed in reception centres by December. [...] At the same time, the ministry aims to demonstrate that undocumented migrants are not welcome and should not come back. [...] The initiative has prompted a mixed reaction from the public. For some, the clampdown has come too late for the centre of Athens, which has already been transformed into a ghetto, while others argue that the state should establish a proper migration policy instead of relying on ad hoc operations that have no lasting impact.

In the wake of the organisation of a special deportation charter flight that sent 88 people to Pakistan, and which was financed by the European Return Fund, the Greek government has announced that it intends to triple the number of border guards at Evros to counter an upsurge in the number of refugees arriving from Syria.

"Greek crisis: EU is preparing to shut the borders", leads Austria’s Der Standard. The Vienna daily learned this Tuesday from a European Council source that several countries are drawing up plans to bring back border controls in the event of an emergency in Greece, without specifying details. The preparations are justified by the fear of illegal capital flight abroad and by rising crime. Above all, European states are worried about illegal migration, thanks to Greece’s role as a transit point for illegal migrants from Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean. The number of illegal immigrants currently living in Greece is estimated at one million. Recalling the legal framework of the Schengen Agreement, the Standard writes –

Unlike the much-debated exit from the eurozone [...], closing the borders with Greece wouldn’t be a problem for its partners.

“EU to mobilise against illegal immigration”, headlines Berlingske. The daily reveals that Denmark, the current holder of the rotating presidency of the European Union, plans to present 90 measures to combat illegal immigration – a phenomenon which increased by 35 % last year – at the next EU Justice and Interior Ministers meeting on 26 April.

The range of measures will include: initiatives to develop better cooperation with refugee source countries, most notably with North African states; reinforce Frontex, increase surveillance of the Turkish-Greek border, and improve the management of migratory flows as well as more efficient procedures for deportations and to combat human trafficking.

The proposals have come at time when illegal immigration is the cause of growing concern in Denmark. However the newspaper also notes –

… according to the Ministry of Justice, we do not know how many illegal immigrants there are in Denmark. However, there is some justification for the worry that the large number of immigrants who are currently in Greece and Italy may decide to move north.

The measures are also justified for practical reasons, argues Marlène Wind of Copenhagen University, who is quoted by the daily –

Problems linked to illegal immigration are a threat to the single market and the European spirit of free movement. For this reason, it will also be a victory for the Danish Presidency to have the project implemented.

"Italy thrown out," headlines Il Manifesto, after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found Italy guilty of violating migrants' right to protection from torture and abuse. The Strasbourg court approved a suit filed by a group of Somalis and Eritrean intercepted on a boat off the island of Lampedusa in May 2009. According to a deal signed by Silvio Berlusconi's government with then Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi, they were deported to Libya, their point of embarcation. Italy must pay them 15,000 euros each in damages.

According to the Court, the Italian "push-back" policy in operation since 2009 violates international law because it deals with migrants collectively and denies them the right to appeal in Italian courts. Roberto Maroni, the Northern League interior minister at that time, has criticised the sentence as "political", while PM Mario Monti has stated that the government will study the ruling. But Il Manifesto is sceptical –

Deals with the new Libyan government point in the same direction as those cut with Gaddafi. To change this would require a thorough legislative overhaul and a new information policy. On reading online comments about the sentence, one realizes that Europe is now seen as a threat to our national integrity. This is the product of two decades of xenophobia and institutional hostility towards immigrants.

"Maritime catastrophes in the Mediterranean," headlines Tageszeitung which takes a critical look at the media coverage devoted to the sinking of the Costa Concordia.

The Berlin daily notes that many of the shipwrecks in the Mediterranean “are not front-page news,” and illustrates its article with the photograph of a boat that sank off the coast of a Tunisian island with 700 Libyan refugees on board in June 2011.

Having enumerated a list of “the worst maritime catastrophes in the Mediterranean since 2006,” the Berlin alternative daily remarks:

Hundreds of thousands of people end up as anonymous corpses on the high seas or washed up on rocky beaches. Tens of thousands of refugees fall into the hands of the mafia in a crisis stricken Europe that has no room or humanity for them. [...] The dead are among us, whether from a luxury cruise ship or a trawler.