Illegal immigration crisis to be raised at next EU Council

Spain yesterday joined Malta and Italy in calling on the European Union to intervene immediately in the illegal immigration crisis following incidents involving illegal immigrants in its enclaves in Morocco.

The latest incidents prompted EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini (picture) to propose that the issue will be treated as an urgent matter at the next EU meeting of justice and home affairs ministers scheduled for October 12.

Five people died on Thursday morning when hundreds of would-be immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa attempted to storm the border fence around the Spanish enclave of Mellila, just across the Strait of Gibraltar that divides Africa from mainland Europe. Following the incident, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero called on the EU to step up its efforts on illegal immigration.

Commenting on the incident, the European Commission said yesterday it is necessary to intensify cooperation on tackling illegal migration with the main countries of origin in Africa as part of a broader partnership on migration-related issues.

Mr Frattini admitted that the EU must do more in view of the hundreds of illegal migrants who are trying to reach EU borders, including Malta. "This awful tragedy is another demonstration of the urgent need to step up our joint efforts to manage migration more effectively", he said.

The problem of illegal immigration is now affecting almost all the southern EU member states.

Apart from the hundreds of illegal immigrants that landed on Maltese shores this year, Italy's island of Lampedusa received more than 7,500 illegal immigrants since the beginning of the year. The same situation is affecting Greece, Cyprus and Spain, which have also experienced an increase in the number of illegal immigrants crossing over from North African countries.

The Commission said it is intensifying its relations with Libya and both sides are committed to agreeing a joint EU-Libya Action Plan on tackling illegal migration before the end of this year. The Commission said that for the first time, this plan will pave the way for launching specific cooperation measures with Libya.

In addition, the Commission will soon present a communication setting out new initiatives on fighting trafficking in human beings. New proposals on tackling illegal migration will be made public next year. New initiatives will be proposed covering both the internal and external dimensions of EU illegal immigration policy.