经济学人:庇护系统遭滥用 欧盟或将限制巴尔干游客的签证?

 　　Europe The EU and the Balkans

　　欧洲 欧盟与巴尔干

　　Asylum¹ system abuse

　　庇护系统的滥用

　　Will the EU reimpose visas for travellers from Balkan countries?

　　欧盟是否会重新限制来自巴尔干的旅行者签证？

　　“Fake asylum seekers”, warns a poster in Belgrade airport, “risk everything.” It is three years since Serbs, Macedonians and Montenegrins got the freedom to travel without a visa to Europe’s 26-member Schengen zone. Bosnians and Albanians received it a year later. They see it as the single most valued prize in the European integration² process.

　　贝尔格莱德机场的一张海报这么警示道：“假冒的庇护寻觅者会不择手段。”三年前，塞尔维亚、马其顿共和国和黑山共和国的公民获得了到欧洲26个申根国家地区可以免签证的待遇。一年之后，波斯尼亚和阿尔巴尼亚也紧接着获得了这个权利。他们视其为欧洲一体化进程中举足轻重的嘉奖。

　　The five Balkan countries may not be allowed to keep it. The reason is surging numbers of asylum seekers, especially from Serbia and Macedonia. In 2009, before visas were lifted for them, 9,860 of their citizens applied³ for asylum in the European Union (EU). In 2012, with incomplete data to October, the figure stood at 33,530. Serbian citizens in Germanymade 10,412 applications and Macedonians 6,012. Serbs topped the list of asylum seekers there, well ahead of Afghans and Syrians.

　　这五个巴尔干国家也许会被剥夺这项权利。其原因是庇护寻觅者人数扶摇直上，尤其是来自塞尔维亚和马其顿共和国的。在2009年，当时签证还未对该二国解禁 ，有9860名公民申请了欧盟的庇护。在2012年，截止到十月的不完全统计，这个数字已经攀升到33,530。德国的塞尔维亚公民提出了10,412份申请，马其顿人则达到6,012。榜单上塞尔维亚鹤立鸡群，远远地甩开了阿富汗和叙利亚。

　　“The increasing abuse of the asylum system is not acceptable,” said Hans-Peter Friedrich, the German interior minister in October. “The huge inflow of Serbian and Macedonian citizens must be stopped immediately.” In October six EU interior ministers demanded faster action to allow the suspension of visa-free travel.

　　“对庇护系统的滥用日趋泛滥，这是不可容忍的。”德国的内政大臣汉斯—皮特·弗雷德里奇在十月说道，“ 必须立即制止大批塞尔维亚和马其顿共和国公民涌入我国 。”当月，六名欧盟内政大臣要求迅速采取措施停止免签证旅行。

　　What the figures do not show is that officials estimate that 95% of the asylum seekers are poor Roma. Life maybe tough back home, but there is no overt⁴ persecution⁵. In Serbia and Macedonia, Roma are better integrated into society than in most other countries. These asylum applicants⁶ know they won’t get it. From 2009 to 2011 of 19,650 Serbian applicants in Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg only 15 were allowed to stay. But they are trying their luck thanks to “the wide availability of information about benefits for asylum seekers”, says a new report by the European Stability Initiative (ESI), a think-tank.

　　数据并未显示出的是，据官方估计，95%的寻求庇护者都是贫穷的罗姆人（即吉普赛人）。在家乡的生活也许艰苦，但那里没有公开的迫害。相比于大多数其他国家，他们在塞尔维亚和马其顿能够更好地融入社会。这些庇护的申请者深知他们难以得到庇护。从2009年到2011年，德国、瑞典、卢森堡的19,650位塞尔维亚申请者中只有15位获准留下。但由于“庇护寻觅者得到各种好处的信息广为传播”，他们仍在试运气。这是由名为欧洲稳定机构的智囊团最近的一份报告提出的。

　　During the months of waiting while authorities decide whether a claim is bogus or genuine the state provides applicants with money, accommodation, health care, schooling⁷ and so on. Given that in Macedonia the average monthly wage is 330 euros ($436) it clearly makes economic sense to head north for a few months.

　　在等待当局判断避难申请属实与否的几个月里，该国为申请者提供金钱、住宿、医保、教育等等。考虑到马其顿的平均月薪是330欧元（436美元），经济上看来北上数月是合情合理的。

　　Visas could be reimposed for Serbs and Macedonians this year. If this happens, says a Serbian official who asked not to be named, this would be seen as “rejection and punishment” and harm already falling support for joining the EU. Even worse, it may incite⁸ reprisals⁹ against Roma.

　　今年内可能会对塞尔维亚人和马其顿人重新提出签证的要求。如果这一切发生的话，据一名要求匿名的塞尔维亚官员说，会被视为“拒绝与惩治”，对加入欧盟日渐式微的支持也会被进一步挫伤。更糟糕的是，这可能煽动对罗姆人的报复性行为。

　　Tanja Fajon, a Slovene member of the European Parliament, believes some EU politicians are using the controversy¹⁰ to score political points, especially in Germany, which has elections this year. Carl Bildt,Sweden’s foreign minister, says that the visa-free regime needs to be protected but that action should be taken at “both ends of the problem”.

　　一位欧洲议会的斯洛文尼亚成员汤加·法琼认为一些欧盟政治家正利用争议性行为为自己的政绩增光添彩，尤其是在年内将迎来大选的德国。瑞典的外务大臣卡尔·比尔迪特表示免签证政策需要得到保护，但应当在“问题的两端”采取行动。

　　Although Macedonia has now begun stopping some people leaving if they don’t have a certain amount of money per day for a trip, such tactics teeter on the racist¹¹ and the illegal. The obvious answer, argues Gerald Knaus, the head of ESI, is that Germany and other countries should speed up decisions on asylum applications from safe Balkan countries. After the Swiss did this the numbers applying tumbled. But when in July 2012 the German Constitutional Court ordered a threefold increase of benefits for asylum-seeking families, numbers surged.

　　尽管马其顿已经开始阻止一些日均旅费没有达到一定数额的人离境，但该政策摇摆于种族歧视与违反法律之间。欧洲稳定机构的首席杰拉德·克劳斯主张道，最明显的答案就是德国和其他国家加快对来自安全的巴尔干国家的庇护申请的审批。在瑞士这么做之后申请人数锐减。但在2012年7月当德国立宪法院要求将庇护寻求家庭的利益增加三倍之后，人数又猛然上升。

　　1.asylum seeker 寻求庇护者

　　例句:Fewer than 7% of asylum seekers are accepted as political refugees.

　　寻求避难者中有不到7%的人被视作政治难民。

　　2.speed up 加速

　　例句:You notice that your breathing has speeded up a bit.

　　你注意到自己的呼吸加快了一些。

　　3.health care 卫生保健

　　例句:The department said many countries had reciprocal agreements for health care with Britain.

　　该部门称许多国家和英国签订了医疗卫生互惠协议。

　　4.foreign minister 外交部长

　　例句:I visited Japan in 1987 at the invitation of the Foreign Minister.

　　应日本外相的邀请，我于1987年访问了日本。

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

4 overt   

adj.公开的，明显的，公然的

参考例句：

• His opponent's intention is quite overt.他的对手的意图很明显。
• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。

5 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

6 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

7 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

8 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

9 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

11 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。