EC concerned over proposed Dutch migrant crackdown

Talks in The Hague are to concern immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe, especially Poles, who constitute the largest group since EU enlargement in 2004.

Jose Barosso underlined he is not familiar with the details of the proposal by the Dutch government, but will be discussing it while visiting the Netherlands.

“We are against discrimination against any European citizens and [the EC] has already shown that we are defending that principle in a very consistent way,” he said.

Last year the European Commission intervened when France started the deportation of Roma people. After a several months-long battle Paris gave way and changed the regulations concerning the residence and expulsion of citizens of other EU states.

Fighting stereotypes

To improve the image of Poles in the Netherlands the Polish community there has organised a Miss Poland in Holland beauty pageant.

Sunday’s event in the Hague gathered a huge audience supporting the ten candidates who took part in the contest.

The jury crowned 20 year-old Eliza Wolowicz from Swidnik, south east Poland now lives and works in the Dutch city of Tilburg.

The organizers of the event aim to stage similar pageants every year to help promote Poland in the Netherland, says one of the jurors Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska

“Unfortunately the image of Poles in the Netherlands is quite negative. Poland is associated with a cheap labour force, good vodka and sausages. Presenting beautiful intelligent women together with a varied artistic programme will help change the image,” she says. (ab)