Immigration to Spain: implications for a unified European Union immigration policy.

PIP: A unified immigration policy is one of the prerequisites for establishing the free movement of people within the European Union (EU). This paper considers the difficulties in establishing a joint policy on the free movement of people within the EU by focusing upon changing immigration policies in Spain. By comparing Spain, a country of only recent, small-scale immigration, to Germany, a country with a longer history of non-European immigration, obstacles to developing and effectively implementing coordinated immigration policies among EU members can be elucidated. The administrative control of entry, estimates of legal and illegal immigrants in the country, and the status of bilateral relations with Morocco are examined in order to highlight the political difficulties encountered in a unified immigration policy both within Spanish society and for the EU. Spain is both a threshold to the EU and a destination. Border control may be the easiest part of implementing a joint immigration policy in the EU. It is more difficult to control settlement. In addition, high rates of unemployment may result among the native host country populations as immigrants more readily accept low-skilled, low-paying jobs.^ieng

Lipid-soluble and water-soluble beta-blockers. Comparison of the central nervous system depressant effect.

The sedative effects of a relatively lipid-soluble and a water-soluble beta-blocker were compared in 20 male hypertensives, 30 to 60 years old. In a blinded, randomized, crossover study, critical flash fusion frequency and computerized Stroop Word Test were used to assess psychomotor function parameters during a drug-free control day and then following 14 days of either metoprolol, 150 mg daily, or atenolol, 100 mg daily, treatment. Both drugs caused subtle but significant reductions in both parameters of sedation (critical flash fusion frequency and computerized Stroop Word Testing). Sedation was significantly related to serum concentrations of both drugs. The maximum drug-induced change was 17.2% +/- 9% for metoprolol and 19.6% +/- 3% for atenolol. The duration of effect was six hours after atenolol and two hours after metoprolol. Blood pressure control for all patients was similar during both treatment phases. These results demonstrate that relative lipid solubility does not reliably predict the neurologic effects of beta-blockers. The intensity of drug-induced sedation was similar, but the water-soluble agent produced a longer duration of sedative activity.