The European Union’s decision to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova was greeted with cheers by the Eurocrats who govern in Brussels. They had best conduct those talks with great care if they don’t want to add fuel to the populist fire that threatens their hold on power.
Populists are gaining strength for many reasons, but mass migration is the biggest. The millions of migrants that have swarmed into the richer nations of the EU have created cultural and economic pressures that drive working-class voters to the populist Right.
Allowing Ukraine and Moldova into the Union without limiting their citizens’ right to live and work anywhere would almost certainly create yet another massive influx of cheap labour. The two nations would easily be the poorest in the Union, with only about $22,000 per capita GDP (€19,000) as measured by purchasing power parity.
