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  International Herald Tribune. Extrait de l'article "Immigration is rattling European cohesion"

"With the European Union rejecting Italy’s latest idea for coping with the arrival of tens of thousands of North Africans on its shores since tumult first engulfed Tunisia in January, the specter of tightened intra-European border controls has arisen for the first time since visa-free travel was introduced in the 1990s. The Italian proposal drew implacable resistance Monday from France, Germany and other gouvernments.

That result suggests that so far, the collateral damage from NATO’s intervention in Libya may well be European cohesion.

Fed by a volatile mix of unrest in North Africa and the rise of right-wing parties and voter discontent about immigration across the continent, the immigration debate has deepened already profound divisions within Europe. Experts say it is proving at least as problematic — and potentially destabilizing — as Europe’s divergent budgetary policies.

Last weekend, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi threw down the gauntlet. Visiting the Italian island of Lampedusa, the first point of entry for thousands of North African migrants to Europe, he said : «　 Either Europe is something that’s real and concrete or it isn’t. And in that case it’s better to go back to each going our own way and letting everyone follow his own policies and egotism.　»

Mr. Berlusconi’s statement, echoed by other members of his government and criticized by his European counterparts, highlighted the growing Showdown. "

By Rachel Donadio