Southern Europe to appeal for help with immigration
Spain’s prime minister will lead an appeal for other European Union nations to offer more help to countries on Europe’s southern borders struggling to cope with record numbers of illegal migrants arriving on their shores from Africa.
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will outline demands by his country as well as Italy, Greece and Malta for the 25-nation bloc to help stem the flow of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa at a one-day summit tomorrow in Lahti, Finland.
Topping the list of demands is a call for more contributions of expertise, money, planes and boats to help patrol coastal waters for the migrants, who set off in rickety boats by the hundreds from northern and western Africa to attempt the treacherous sea crossing.
Zapatero and Italy’s Prime Minister Romano Prodi will also push their counterparts to follow through on pledges of cash for EU immigration projects and increased development aid to Africa.
Amnesty International, meanwhile, sent a letter to EU leaders warning that co-operating with countries with questionable human rights records would put migrants at risk of serious abuse.
The group singled out Libya, which Italy has been eager to involve in the effort to stop migrants and accept the return of rejected asylum seekers. Amnesty noted that Libya’s government had not signed a key international convention meant to protect refugees.
Past appeals have failed to generate much action on the problem.
A year ago, the EU leaders meeting in England agreed that illegal immigration was an urgent priority. But EU governments have yet to co-ordinate an effective response.
A record 27,000 people have been intercepted so far this year trying to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, and 12,000 have been caught in waters near Sicily.
Arguments over how best to handle the problem have led to a rift between some nations.
Germany, Austria and others have blamed Spain for the crisis after Madrid last year granted amnesty to some 600,000 illegal migrants without informing its EU partners. They argue the amnesty has made Europe even more of a magnet for migrants.
In its letter, Amnesty put some of the blame on the EU for its failure to craft a common immigration and asylum policy. Those negotiations have dragged since 1999.
“A renewed and in-depth discussion on the creation of legal channels of migration to the EU is urgently needed,” Amnesty said. “As long as the EU has not developed credible, rights-respecting and accessible frameworks for legal migration, many migrants will continue to feel that they have no choice but to use irregular channels to enter and work in the EU.”
