Crossing the ‘shameful abyss’

Date: 15/06/06

One had travelled all the way from Sudan to escape the poverty; another said his family had sold land to pay traffickers to take him across the sea; while a third was the only educated child in his family and so was the obvious choice to make the journey. The stories told to MEPs last week during a visit to the Canary Islands are only some of the harrowing tales from the 9,000 immigrants who have left west Africa since the start of the year.

Poverty, lack of work, AIDS and corruption are the issues that drive them from their homes and on to often tiny fishing boats to contend with the Atlantic. "When they have breakfast, there is no money for lunch or dinner," said Dutch MEP Johannes Blokland, who visited the islands.

The MEPs wanted to observe how the immigrants were being treated by the Spanish authorities and largely they were pleased. "They are being treated like human beings rather than numbers. They have good toilet and washing facilities, food, access to healthcare," said UK Green MEP Jean Lambert, now charged with writing a report for Parliament about the trip.

Various recent meetings between the EU and developing countries have focused on the issue of illegal immigration and twice in the past month Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Mar�a Teresa Fern�ez de la Vega has visited EU institutions to discuss the problem. Her message was clear: Spain's southern border is also the EU's southernmost border and Madrid should not be expected to solve this complex and costly problem on its own.

On one level, it seemed that Fern�ez de la Vega got what she wanted. Following a meeting in Brussels last month with Commission President Jos�anuel Barroso and Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini, she came away with an agreement for 15 measures to tackle the problem. The most novel included the first EU multinational task force involving illegal immigration which would be co-ordinated by Frontex, the border agency. The mission would involve naval vessels, aircraft and personnel from eight member states who would patrol the waters around the Canaries and down the west African coast. Frontex has so far sent a team to assess the needs and this report will form the basis of a meeting next week (20 June) in Madrid between participating countries as to who will do what.

But the details are still scant. The Commission has said that it will do whatever Spain asked it to do and Fern�ez de la Vega has hinted that the trafficking routes from Africa to the Canaries would be a focus of the task force. But whether high-speed EU naval vessels would be mandated to turn back overloaded boats of immigrants was not clear. Lambert doubted it would come to this. "They're not looking to send people back, they are looking to save lives," she said.

But aside from such short-term measures, Spain may indeed be left to sort out the problems on its southern coast and islands. Money is one significant issue. Fern�ez de la Vega told the Parliament this week that Spain had spent EUR 200 million in the past two years trying to control illegal immigration. During that period the number of police officers at the borders was increased by 2,000, with 172 trafficking networks being broken up and 727 people arrested. Frontex is being given a budget of EUR 2.1 million for its tasks while some other costs will be met from the European Refugee Fund.

But obstacles will be put in the way of increasing the EU budget towards combating illegal immigration. Germany recently has opposed various measures in the Council of Ministers because of budgetary implications.

A call by Fern�ez de la Vega for "more Europe" in the area of immigration indicates that Spain wants to broaden the issue out to the EU level. She said that greater urgency was needed among member states on the implementation of issues that they have already agreed towards common EU justice issues, such as immigration. She particularly criticised the lack of movement on a Commission proposal for allowing people to legally enter the EU for work. "The Commission legal immigration plan has not even been discussed. It needs to be addressed urgently," she said. But again this notion may not get far as member states including Germany, the UK, Ireland and Denmark are opposing greater EU competences in the area of justice.

Opposition to budgetary increases by member states in the Council and greater harmony of justice policy will likely block Spain's attempts to get the EU to help out further with its problems.

In the meantime, Spain will have to make do with specific short-term help, meagre funding and long-term ideas about development. This will not ease Madrid's concerns.

As Fern�ez de la Vega said this week: "The southern border of Spain and Africa is the shortest distance between the EU and another continent...but it is a most shameful abyss that separates us."

Illegal immigration to Spain

• 9,000 immigrants have travelled to Spain's Canary Islands since the start of the year from the west African coast, including countries such as Senegal, Mali, Guinea Bissau
• Under Spanish law, if an immigrant cannot be identified within 40 days he or she must be released. Some of those traveling to the Canary Islands are released there but most are flown to the mainland
• Spain is trying to reach repatriation agreements with west African states to accept their nationals back but are treading carefully following allegations last month that officials tricked immigrants into boarding planes for Senegal
• A similar problem at Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's tiny territorial enclaves on the north African coast, last year resulted in agreement with the Moroccan authorities to tighten the border controls. Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Mar�a Teresa Fern�ez de la Vega says there has since been a 40% drop-off in immigrants trying to get through by this route

Article reports on illegal immigration to Spain from outside the European Union. The Spanish Government has asked the EU for assistance to at the Union's southernmost border.