a bitter fight between france and italy over thousands of north african refugees could put t schengen treaty at risksk hello and welcome to the brussels studios of dw-tv and "european journal." also, austria imposes a ban on baggers, but can at last? after the gulf of mexico disaster, norway puts offshore drilling on hold. it had 25 years on, chernobyl still affects a town for a nuclear plant was never built. austria wants to banned beggars

fromts streets. styria has followed other cities, and in the city of graz, some claim that begging is organized by gangs, although there is little evidence. the ban may be overturned by the constitutional court, but campaigners are making quite a song and dance over it. margarita has been coming to the austrian city of graz for 20 years. she could only dream of a visit to the dentist. she is happy when she could afford to eat. most people try to avoid her and her daughter. day after day, she sits in the town center, begging. for years, she suffered from abject poverty in the heart of europe, but the people love graz are increasingly concerned about the destitution in their midst. it does not suit the image of this wealthy city that is rich

in culture. few protest it when the parliament passed a law to prevent begging. a majority of social democrats also supported the move to drive beggars out of graz and the rest ofofysteria. >> in this republic, nobody needs to become especially in graz and styria. we want to use this to underline this fact because we are of the opinion that begging is not a cultural asset worthy of protection. >> not a cultural asset? no city in austria boasts more monasteries than graz. they are all mendicant orders, charity and compassion flying at the very order of christianity.

-- lying at the very heart of christianity. >> nowadays we need people to reveal their poverty and an open and honest manner. we must view it as an opportunity to give to others. >> this is 1 of the few places in graz where beggars are welcome, at a shelter. almost all of the roma who eat and sleep here come from a village in southern slovakia. they have been coming here for years. >> they are not here because they are lazy or don't want to work. they are here because the unemployment rate for roma and their homeland is 98%. there is not a family that does not go hungry at least once per month. >> we received 215 euros per month for 5 of us. then the authorities found out we had a 35-year-old car and did not give us social assistance for 6 months. so i came here with my son.

it was a matter of survival. >> but many say there is no real poverty. they claim these people are members of organized gangs who are taking money out of the pockets of nike said a sense and alleged connections to organized crime. >> this constantinsinuation that are part of a criminal organization and have to turn in their earning somewhere is a blatant lie. the police have conducted repeated investigations, really long ones, and have never found any suppose it mastermind. >> in graz, even many of those who did not support the ban are not sure. >> many people do not know who beggars are begging for, themselves or organizations. >> i favor some sort of band. he cannot have people approach you every 5 meters.

>> most of the protest against the ban on begging is coming from the churches. a few hundred people also took part in a demonstration, setting up a machine for beggars, which says insert your money here so you don't have to look poverty and the face. some of the big supermarket chains have announced it will continue to allow people to beg on their premises. still, at this shelter, people are scared. what will they do if there are no longer allowed to beg? >> it will mean we are no longer allowed to pay for a lot of things. by children will be able to go to school anymore. it -- my children will not be able to go to school anymore. 1 off my daughters is blind. when it is over here, we will starve. >> but before that happens, they will probably move on, in search of a place where their presence arsis still tolerated.

a row over north african refugees is threatening the passport-free travel between italy and france. rome, keen to share its burden, has issued a temporary residence permits to thousands of refugees, many of them with relatives or friends in france, but paris has respond by stopping trains and sending them back. now there is a threat to the whole future of the schengen treaty. >> this jacket says france and capital-letter spread that is where he and his friends want to go. but they are stuck at the train station. they made the dangerous trip from tunisia to italy by boat. >> we want freedom and work. there is nothing for us in tunisians. >> o or 200 refugees have been here, close to the french border, for weeks.

they have been staying at the train station and a local refugee center, but the locals want them to leave. >> i hope the italian government takes them out. we italians have had enough. >> in the teenager, there are to utter thousand refugees from libya. project in tunisia, there are 200,000 refugees from libya. >> the french government has closed its border near the resort town, closing out some of the french speaking refugees. more tha400 police officers patrol each train arriving at the border. any tunisians caught crossing into france are sent back. the crackdown has been a boon to

traffickers, who offered to take refugees across the border by car for 150 euros. the situation has shaken the idea of a borderless europe and as a blow to european integration. it is a paradox in a town where the border station is even named after 1 of the european union's founding fathers but france feels it is in the right. >> we're stepping up controls, in line with the eu schengen agreement. we're only monitoring the area behind the border. >> the difference between the 2 may be hard to distinguish for those on the quiet with the letter of the law. >> if illegal migrants are coming from italy, like most have in recent weeks, the italians are required to take them back. and determine the legal situation. a in accordance with the schengen agreement.

>> but italy has found its own solution to the problem. ithese tunisian refugees are excited about a new development. >> they told us we would be getting temporary residence permits from the eu today. >> those permits would allow them to travel to other eu countries before the tourist season gets going. ventimiglia's mayor is worried they may spoil business. >> when you see how people a sleeping everywhere, on the beach, in doorways, in the train station, it is not a very nice pitcher. especially for tourists. >> neither italy nor france wants to taken these immigrants from the other side of the

mediterranean. but the refugees are pinning their hopes on the new permits, granted on humanitarian grounds. in response, france has increased its entry requirements. to enter the country, my parents have to prove they have enough money to provide for themselves. -- migrants have to prove they have enough money to provide for themselves. >> out amount to 6000 euros for 3-month stay and france. we have the right to impose additional conditions. if they are not met, the foreign nationals are still to be considered illegal. >> europe is playing a game of ping-pong withth immigrants, but they're determined to reach france. they hope this will be their last night in ventimiglia. the explosion on the

deepwater horizon drilling rig caused massive damage to the gulf of mexico but also to the offshore oil industry. norway has put on hold plans to drill off of its northern coast, in addition -- a decision welcomed by environmentalists who say an oil leak would devastate fish spawning grounds. but the oil industry says the grounds must be opened up to compensate for dwindling north sea reserves. lofoten islands from the air. even from the air, you concede the fishing villages. that is a picture-perfect paradise for anglers. this person says this spring is proving a very good season for cod fishing. he and his colleagues know why. the fish are just as happy as they are. there are no plans to drill for oil or around the islands.

>> the future looks good. fish are a sustainable resource. if we treat it right, it will always be there. we will be able to live from fishing forever. >> oil companies believe the seabed on long lofoten islands could harbert large reserves of oil. tests angered local fisherman, who fear that drilling operations could threaten kaat stocks. the norwegian government has decided to not allow drilling for the time being. this fisherman is glad, but he does not regarded as a final victory. > the oil industry is totally and considerate. that has been frequently made clear. the north sea fishermen have had

to move from 1 area to the next over the past 40 years. we could face that, too. >> oil and gas have made norway rich. the voices of the oil corporations are often louder than those of the fishermen. but the situation in the unspoiled cod rich lofoten islands is controversy. the issue has split the government. the smaller parties of the governing coalition are against drilling. socialist left party leaders drove through a moratorium on drilling around the islands perry she wants to move from oil to claim renewable energies like hydropower. >> we have so many possibilities. i think the dream of getting the last drop of oil out of the ground stops us from seeing where the future opportunities lie. >> but the state owned oil corporation has not been deterred. the company's biggest argument

in favor of drilling has been the norwegian ore reserves are fast running out perr. kback on the lofoten islands, this man also earns a living from the natural environment. he relies on tourism, though not many people come in the winter. he is also against drilling perr. >> perhaps the tourists will come anyway. but oil would spoil the natural environment. if there was a leak, we would be ruined. >> spellbound, the youngsters in the core group watch a sea eagle in flight. oil firms say it's a disaster like the gulf oil spill could not happen here, but the group is skeptical. >> many people seem to believe that control everything. no, i think we have enough oil.

>> the next norwegian general election is in 2013 and a new government could overturn the current administration's decision. that could be disastrous for lofoten fishermen. after the chernobyl disaster of 25 years ago, the soviet union cancelled several nuclear projects, including one at chistye bory, east of moscow. it was expanded to house hundreds of extra workers, but since construction stopped, many have left. the few who remain cling to the hope that 1 day construction will begin again. >> this is about a day's trip from the russian capital, moscow. the area is that with vegetation. mushroom and birch trees have grown up around the remains of what was once meant to be in nuclear power plant. construction began in 1980. the plants involved two light-

water graphite reactors, like those used in chernobyl. when the reactor meltdown happen there, work on the kostroma facility was stopped. following the collapse of the soviet union, the new russian government decided that led to restart the project in 1992. that triggered a backlash from these 2 women, the leaders of the local anti-nuclear movement. they asked for a referendum, and in 1996 the project was abandoned again. >> we are a thorn in the side of those in power. our movement has been around for 18 years. the new governor has kept us out of the papers and off the internet, but we are carrying on. when money is available, we make fliers or organize small meetings. everything is to be easier. we even had press conferences and round tables. >> this public campaign helped

lead to the overwhelming no vote in the referendum. if consultation of this kind in today's russia it is practically inconceivable. the kostroma plant remains a shell. yet a nearby sign points to a building intended to serve as the plant's headquarters. and it is still in use. but the people here are under instructions from the russian authorities not to talk to our reporters. these workers' quarters were a gift from the former east german government in 1978. today, some of the masons, painters, the workers, and crane operators who came to work at the plant years ago still live here with their falies. it is a hard life. >> there is only cold water. we don't have hot water. that is something we have never had.

>> the buildings are contaminated with asbestos and mold. no 1 enjoys living here, but they have little choice. like many russians, they cannot afford to move. finding a new place to live would require finding a new job. because it is almost 50. she said she used to earn good money at the plant, but everything changed after chernobyl. >> we were promised houses and another development. we had hoped that we could live well there, but after chernobyl, according ground to a halt. nothing else was built. nobody needed us. we have become hostages of this old nuclear power plant. >> chistye bory is a typical purchase-designed plant, with

the workers came, but the place of a planet ever constructed. some 6000 moved here in the late 1970's, and 6000 are still here today. lena moved here 3 decades ago to work as a painter at the plant. back then, finding work at a nuclear plant was considered a stellar opportunity. today, she is unemployed. she gets by on the equivalent of 80 euros per month. her daughter works for the railway company and help support her mother. these days, their main topic of conversation is the future of chistye bory. there are plans to build another nuclear power plant 10 kilometers from the abandoned facility. it would be 1 of 26 around the country. >> i am an optimist.

i am positive that a new nuclear plant will be built in this area. i would even enroll in the university. i would be interested in becoming a nuclear engineer. >> but she and her neighbors are in for disappointment. the new plant is to be run by new employees. they will live in another town, built from scratch, just like chistye bory. residents here continue to wait in vain. at a plant placed here and in 1982 says, " a monument to the workers that construct the kostroma plant is planned," but nearly 3 decades later, the ground is still bear. the european commission wants member states to get tough

on truancy. they want tcut the rate from 14% to under 10% by 2020. in britain, parents can be jailed. in berlin, a softer approach is being tried to give reluctant peoples and education. >> going to school is routine for most teenagers, but some choose to opt out. 300,000 students in germany regularly skip school. many say they just don't feel like going. this person was truant for weeks. it was not a positive experience. >> i had friends who only hung around with me when i had money. i stopped seeing them. i don't get into trouble

anymore. i am trying to turn the corner. >> teenagers who skip school often form small gangs and hang out with each other. they tend to favor shopping centers and electronics shops. peer pressure makes it difficult for individuals to leave gangs and the back-to-school. the longer they stay away, the harder it is to go back. >> some people stay out of school because they don't like it. others do it because they are afraid to go or they're not confident enough. >> this person was lucky. his mother did not get fined because of this truancy. in most cases, with school-age children miss 10 days of school without explanation, their parents have to pay up. he also escaped the indignity of being brought back to school by the police.

in part of berlin with high unemployment rates, truancy is common. there are growing calls for stiffer penalties to tackle the problem. >> education is compulsory. children have to attend. what i always say is if the child does not come to school, job benefits should be withheld from the family. that could be up to 400 euros for two children in 1 month. that was not paid to the family's account, it would soon put an end to skipping school within the family. >> this boy has been back in school for a year. he goes to a special school for teenagers who used to play truant. learning with others who have the same problems is easier for him. social education worker edgar also looks after him.

the boys can turn to him for help practically 24/7. >> he helps us when we have family problems, too. he will do anything to help us improve. if we're looking for a job or need something, he helps. he is like a father. >> his dad moved out of the family home and long time ago. that knocked him off course. edgar is there to help them get back on track. >> school, followed by school and exams and apprenticeships and work. this thread has been broken. we just have to try to get young people back on a path that will help prepare them for the future. >> this boy has chosen to get

practical work experience in this carpenters workshop. he prefers it to sitting in the classroom. it is preparation for life after school. he enjoys the challenge and is hopeful for the future. >> my sister is married with 2 kids. my brother is successful. he has a restaurant and wants to open a hotel and turkey soon. i am the odd 1 out. but i plan to make something of myself. >> he now realizes just how much is at stake. if the start skipping school again, his career will be over before it even gets started. i it may prove more effective than jailing parents. we will be back with another "european journal" next week. join us then.

for now, though, goodbye. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--