Fortress Europe is a myth,'' says Godfried Engbersen, a migration specialist at Rotterdam's Erasmus University. Europe needs those immigrants to maintain the size of its labor force in the 21st century. Low birthrates on the Continent translate into declining, older populations. Britain's nonwhite immigrants came from the Commonwealth and, as descendants of the empire, became automatic citizens. Not surprisingly, they have created the most companies proportionately of any immigrant group in Europe.
More immigrants work for themselves than for others in Britain.
As Europe's largest economy, Germany also boasts the largest absolute numbers of foreign entrepreneurs. But Germany and Austria both also have restrictive nationality laws and place numerous obstacles in front of immigrants. We had a lot of difficulties with the government office for foreigners,'' says Katrin Siuda, Marek's wife and business partner. He keeps his shop open evenings until 10 and all day on Sunday, when most other stores in France are closed. These low-skill businesses can turn into successful companies.