The Europe I Know is About to Change
The morning of June the 24th was a beautiful one in Finland. The country had slowed down to celebrate midsummer, one of the most traditional holidays in the Nordics.
During midsummer many Finns leave the cities and travel to the countryside. We had also gathered at our summer house with some friends for cookouts, sauna, a traditional midsummer bonfire and to spend some time together.
When we woke up in the morning, the news broke out. I could hear one of my friends gasping: ”They voted for it. Brexit.” It is not often that I get up from bed in three seconds but this time I definitely did.
And certainly, we were all really surprised. Even if some Finns were supporting Britain to get out of the EU (mostly from the True Finns party), I still felt that the general opinion in Finland, the northernmost member of the EU had been that a ”brexit” would be too big of a political risk for the UK. I also thought that the UK voters would agree.
Why did the U.K. vote to get out of the European Union? Why is there so much negativity towards the union? I believe it all boils down to the tension Europe is facing right now: the fast pace of immigration and a humanitarian crisis, difficulties of the European Monetary Union and especially in Finland, a very long economical recession. But among the UK independence party, surprisingly many of the anti-European Union sympathizers found their anger from migration issues.
Boris Johnson stated in his post-Brexit speech that “It is said that those who voted Leave were mainly driven by anxieties about immigration. I do not believe that is so.”
Even if Johnson tried to avoid the immigration topic in his speech, the fact that he had to mention it indicates the contrary is true. This is something that I find sad, since the refugee crisis is an issue that Europe has to face right now. We need to face this crisis together. Europe has never been more peaceful and prosperous than when it has been united.
The biggest problem facing the developed countries
In 2013, Finland took in 31 000 foreign migrants. Per capita this is approximately the same amount as in the UK, but since Finland’s population is less than a tenth of the UK’s, the volume is small by comparison. In 2015, the net immigration was at its smallest level in nine years.
On the other side of the gulf of Finland is another Nordic country, Sweden. The population of Sweden is almost 10 million and Sweden has taken in a lot of immigrants since the 1980's. It is most certainly true that Sweden hasn’t been able to solve all the possible problems that immigration and cultural clashes might cause: in May 2013, violent disturbances broke out in Husby in northern Stockholm. It is a suburb where more than 80 percent of the residents are immigrants and second-generation immigrant residents. It is also one of the poorest suburbs in Stockholm.
Even if there has been violent break-outs and adjustment is never easy (especially to the cold and dark Nordic winters!), in the long run Sweden might have the biggest possible benefit because of immigration.
The population pyramid in Sweden and Finland is looking the most difficult one in entire Europe. We have the oldest population and population aging has emerged as one of the biggest problems facing the developed countries.
According to the Bank of Finland, Finland is the first country in Europe to face steep ageing due to large post-war cohorts (born in 1945–1949). The economic consequences of ageing are fundamental. According to Statistics Finland, the shortage of labour can only be solved by attracting labour from abroad.
Otherwise the consequences will be reduced labour force and a declining economy. There will not be enough tax payers to sustain the rapidly rising number of pensioners.
A journalist, Sami Sillanpää who works for one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordics, reflected in his column in July 2016 how immigration has given Sweden the opportunity to at least try to tackle its population pyramid problem.
“According to Eurostat, the dependency ratio in Sweden is developing more positively within the next decade than in Finland, merely because of immigration”, Sillanpää reflects in his article.
There is no doubt how much migration has affected the labour force within the past decade, both in Europe and in the U.S. According to OECD, migrants accounted for 47 percent of the increase in the workforce in the United States and 70 percent in Europe over the past ten years.
How to find a better European future?
I was five years old when Finland joined the European Union. It was 1995, Finland had just recovered from a very deep depression. During 1991–1993 unbelievably many Finnish companies, factories and even families had broken down. During those years unemployment rose to almost 19 percent, from an earlier 3,5 percent.
The 1991–1993 depression was definitely one of the worst economic crises in Finland’s history, even worse there than the depression of the 1930's.
At that time joining the European Union was a sign of better times, better economy and a better working Europe. It was a big step for Finland.
It is hard to predict the consequences that Brexit will bring for the UK and the European Union. But what I believe is true is the fact that Europe, as we know it now, will change. It has to.
The most important thing is that the change will not be driven by fear and racism. The change should be driven by a unity for a better tomorrow for all Europeans.
The writer is part of Global Millenial Bloggers. You can follow the Millenial Bloggers on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.
