‘Fortress Europe’ under fire

Immigration has become one of the most high-profile issues in the EU-Africa relationship in recent years.

The EU and Africa have responded to the problem in a variety of ways. Conferences were organised last year in Rabat and Tripoli which set down ways for both sides to work together to tackle the long-term issues prompting migration, such as local employment, training and sending out information on the risks of illegal immigration. The European Commission has set up the first "reception centre" in Mali, which informs prospective African migrant workers about ways to work in Europe legally. The Commission is also organising a "circular migration" scheme for workers to travel to Europe for seasonal employment and to return to their countries with updated skills. So far France, Spain and Italy have signed up to the scheme.

The Commission wants member states to adopt a law which would introduce minimum penalties for European companies which employ illegal workers, thus targeting the ‘pull-factor’ for many African migrants.

The EU’s border agency, Frontex, has been drafted in to co-ordinate the EU first joint operations to tackle illegal migration. But the EU’s approach has been criticised for building up a ‘fortress Europe’ to keep people out without tackling the root problems of immigration. Moves to set up legal migration from Africa also often focus on skilled workers. "The Commission’s cosy calculation that we can take the best and leave the rest will not work," Graham Watson, the leader of the Liberal Democrat MEPs in the European Parliament, said recently.

Immigration has become one of the most high-profile issues in the EU-Africa relationship in recent years.