BELGIUM/FILE: Europen Union work on establishing on common strategy to combat illegal migration, lack resources

Record ID: 455553

  • Title: BELGIUM/FILE: Europen Union work on establishing on common strategy to combat illegal migration, lack resources
  • Date: 16th February 2007
  • Summary: (AD2) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (FEBRUARY 15, 2007) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF EUROPEAN COUNCIL
  • Embargoed: 3rd March 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAA18V9EAZO8XM2EF015S3GY1XR
  • Story Text: European Union states have failed so far to come with enough offers to equip a border agency set up to halt a wave of illegal immigrants to Southern Europe expected this year. Following immigration summits in Tripoli, Libya, and Rabat, Morocco, the European Union is working to establish common immigration policies throughout its 27 member states.
    More than 31,000 illegal immigrants reached Spain's Canary Islands last year, six times more than in 2005, and Italy and Malta were also targeted heavily. Many would-be migrants died trying to make the journey.
    The European Union said it wants to strengthen its borders and encouraged controlled immigration.
    By Thursday (February 15), nineteen European states had offered a total of eight aircraft, 13 helicopters and about 50 boats, as well as other technical equipment for border surveillance.
    During their monthly meeting, European interior ministers called for more resources, and stressed it was necessary for the bloc to be ready for the coming "the migration season" when the weather improves.
    "We further encouraged everybody to do a little more to make their contribution, so that we don't just have a legal basis in place, but also the means to implement that in crisis situations," German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told a news conference.
    The boats, aircraft, and other equipment are to be put at the disposal of new EU border agency Frontex. Finland, Spain, Italy and Germany have offered most of the boats and aircraft, migration spokesman for the European Commission Roscam Abbing said on the side of the summit.
    Warsaw-based Frontex was created in 2005 to coordinate border operations and train border guards from EU states, but does not have its own border guards, boats or helicopters.
    It struggled last year to gather only a handful of boats and aircraft for operations prompting criticisms of lack of solidarity by the EU's southern states.
    Schaeuble hoped EU ministers would agree at a meeting in April to create a rapid response force of border guards who could be sent to help EU states cope with sudden influxes of illegal migrants.
    The European Union also said it wants to encourage 'circular migration'.
    ''This circular migration concerns first of all seasonal workers, temporary workers... If I am talking about agricultural seasonal workers in a particular country. And if there are from Mali, two hundred people ready to go to my country (Italy) or to Spain or to another country, according to the availability of legal jobs, it's possible to do that, and circular migration is that after three months, or six months, Mali should take back people,'' Franco Frattini, the European home and justice commissioner, described.
    Migration has become a hot political issue in EU-African relations, with the Europeans hoping African states will do more to help stop would-be migrants before they head for Europe.
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