A Million Little Things (2018) Bosnian, Croatia...

It is uncomfortable to acknowledge that EU membership makes things worse, at least to begin with. But now the distinction in Europe between members and non-members is eroding. For Poland, Romania, Croatia and others, opening the labor market led to millions leaving. Now Germany and others have been opening up to skilled labor from non-EU countries too. A few years ago, the issue was illegal migration and people trying their luck as bogus asylum seekers. That is the story of the past. Now there are jams of people in front of consulates from Belgrade to Banja Luka and Pristina as people seek work permits, often sponsored by companies in EU Croatia and Slovenia. Migration leads to political consequences. Across the region, the demographic issue is becoming a political issue and not just in terms of governments promising to do something. In Serbia, the president has been contrasting the current numbers of Serbs and Albanians with future ones that show Serbs dramatically diminishing in proportion to Albanians. He is doing this because he seeks to build a consensus before any unpopular deal he might make with Kosovo. Electoral rolls everywhere remain packed with those who have emigrated. Politicians have an interest in doing this, and it is easier to steal elections if you have padded lists. But the 2018 referendum in North Macedonia on the name change failed, not just because of an opposition boycott, but also because the threshold could not easily be reached because so many people on the roll were abroad. 781b155fdc