June 23, 2008

Europe Tightens Borders

   On Friday the European Union instructed member countries to tighten border security.  The new policies will include fingerprinting and screening of all visitors, including North Americans, Africans and others coming to European countries and will cost several billion dollars.

   Nicolas Sarkozy will take over the leadership position of the EU on the first of July and is making "border management" and immigration policies some of his top priorities.  Other items on Sarkozy’s plan for Europe include boosting Europe’s military defences and energy security.  The Lisbon Treaty may be dead but the agenda behind it is not.

   Satellite tracking will be used to monitor "illegal immigrants" and many believe privacy and human rights abuses could result.  Will this have any effect on tourism?  Will our visitors appreciate the Cead Mille Failte after they are photographed, fingerprinted, and processed?

6 Comments »

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  1. This is very sinister indeed. It looks as if my dream of one day traveling around Europe is dying off. I can only see it getting more and more totalitarian as time goes on. Glad to see the Irish pluck in facing this monster off though! More power to you!

    Comment by Aurora — June 23, 2008 @ 1:49 pm

  2. Our freedoms are being eroded day by day. Thanks for the comment Aurora! :)

    Comment by Cao — June 23, 2008 @ 2:33 pm

  3. It won’t be the illegals they monitor- only the citizens will have these monitoring devices! Yes, I’m giving up on traveling Europe because of all these security measures, both in Europe and in the US. They assume all citizens are enemies of the state, whereas illegals are left to roam free. Citizens as enemies of their own government is a clearly defining characteristic of fascism- which is nearly here for all the western countries.

    Comment by Margaret — June 29, 2008 @ 2:00 am

  4. Thanks for the comment Margaret! The times they are a changin’ :(

    Comment by Cao — June 29, 2008 @ 10:03 am

  5. And here is a video to commemorate the event
    Cead Mille Failte

    Comment by EuroYank — July 4, 2008 @ 8:06 pm

  6. Thanks Euro! Glad to see you made it back from your holidays! :)

    Comment by Cao — July 5, 2008 @ 11:10 am

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