Asparagus and European Integration

Harvesting asparagus is an arduous, labor-intensive task. This makes it the kind of job often done by seasonal or migrant workers who are more willing to do this kind of back-breaking labor. For decades, large amounts of German asparagus (it's white!) has been picked by Poles who were willing to do a job many Germans simply refused to do. However, thanks to the EU, German asparagus farmers fear they will not have enough pickers for the harvest:

Walter Heuer, a grower in Lower Saxony, said the movement of job-seeking Poles to the UK and Scandinavia had created problems for German growers.

"Seasonal labour is very strictly regulated here," he complained. "We have lots of paperwork."

German asparagus growers traditionally rely heavily on Polish workers.

The UK especially has experienced an influx of Poles since it opened up its labour market to the new EU member states in 2004.

The shortage of Poles willing to do the work is directly related to the opportunities made available to Polish workers after Poland joined the EU. German farmers are being forced to turn to even poorer EU states like Romania to find workers willing to harvest their asparagus since Poles can make good money doing less labor intensive work in the UK. Unfortunately, workers from Romania do not yet have the same freedom of movement as Polish workers, which results in considerable difficulties for German agriculture.

The solution to this dilemma is very simple: Give all EU workers regardless of their nation of origin complete freedom of movement. This would enable labor to move freely about the continent, giving German farmers greater access to workers. Unfortunately, this solution presents a dilemma of its own: What's to stop the Romanian workers from going to the UK like their Polish counterparts?

This problem has its own solution: Admit Turkey to the EU. The Turks represent a source of labor and demographic stability that Europe desperately needs. Turkey could also benefit from the substantial remittance sent back home by foreign laborers.