2006-10-07T16:47:28Z https://www.thenewfederalist.eu/Get-VISAble#comment1127 2006-10-07T16:47:28Z

<p>It is great that more and more NGOs have started to highlight the barriers that visa creates inside of Europe. Visa requirements does not only devide Europe but also trough its often humiliating, costly and time consuming procedures work against European integration, the emergence of a European civil society and a European identity. That the leaders of Europe decided to increase the visa fees by almost the double shows the total lack of understanding of this from the exclusive club of 25.</p> <p>But despite the pressing need for reform and despite the increased attention the visa issue is gaining in for example the European Youth Forum or other NGOs I still lack real commitment and dedication to fight against visa. If you go into <a href="http://www.getvisable.com" class="spip_url spip_out auto" rel="nofollow external">www.getvisable.com</a> you can see ZERO posts under campaign days and under the collection of worst cases you find 3 cases… This does not really ad up to a strong commitment from the European civil society against visa inside Europe. The other problem I see is the quite week demands being made by civil society actors. Despite admitting that visa requirements goes against the freedom of movement, devides Europe and makes further European integration hard, the only claims that are being heard are for visa free travel for students and youth involved in civil society. Are somehow non-organised youth less Europeans or deserve less the freedom of movement ? Are adults less humiliated by time consuming and overly costly visa procedures ? If we believe in a united Europe we should be prepared to fight for it and we should fight for this Europe to include all of the European citizens ! Surely this will not happen tomorrow, but if we don't make the demands now it will also not happen in the future.</p> <p>On the 9th of November – the day of the fall of the Berlin wall – JEF all across Europe will perform a big public action against visa inside of Europe. We will build up walls on public spaces in cities from Balkan to Finland, like this symbolize how visa creates borders in Europe just like the Berlin wall once did. When youth across all of Europe manage to act jointly across the borders we can show what a Europe united means and that we, the youth, are prepared to fight for it !</p> <p>If you want to join our action please just get in touch with me, asa.gunven<span class="mcrypt"> chez </span>jef-europe.net and you will get more info.</p>