| Author (Person) | Beatty, Andrew |
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| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.12, No.9, 9.3.06 |
| Publication Date | 09/03/2006 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 09/03/06 Every day, Spaniards wake up to news that another patera - or small uncovered fishing boat - has tried to cross the Straits of Gibraltar from Morocco to reach the beaches of Andalusia. Frequently the patera's cargo of would- be migrants does not make it to the coast and has to be rescued, or worse, everyone drowns. The Spanish coastguard says that in 2005 it rescued 6,801 people from these vessels. Estimates of how many people actually cross to Spain run as high as 100,000. Franco Frattini, European commissioner for freedom, security and justice, hopes that 2006 will be a year in which important steps are taken to reducing this type of illegal immigration to the EU from North Africa and other 'third countries'. According to Commission spokesperson Friso Roscam-Abbing, the EU and Morocco aim to sign a re-admission agreement before the summer. The agreement would mean EU states would have the right to send would-be migrants back across the Straits of Gibraltar, including nationals of countries other than Morocco. Similar agreements are expected with Libya, Algeria, Ukraine, Moldova and Russia. Morocco and other North African countries in particular find it hard to accept the return of migrants from countries in Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa. Negotiations have been difficult. It has been six years since the European Commission was given a mandate to negotiate, with Morocco over an agreement. Morocco and others have asked the EU to provide technical and financial assistance for dealing with migrants who are sent back. Some non-governmental groups have voiced concern at the content of the draft agreements, questioning the omission of references to international legal norms and the lack of adequate procedures in the Maghreb for assessing who is a refugee. The agreement with Libya has also been criticised because Libya has not signed the Geneva Convention on Refugees. As the EU currently has only a handful of re-admission agreements - with Hong Kong, Macao, Albania - as well as limited measures with China, evidence about their effectiveness is scarce. But according to Sergio Carrera of the Centre for European Policy Studies, the agreements are an efficient way of letting countries know that they need to pay more attention to their migration policies. "They do not send a message to the immigrants themselves but to the governments that they must deal with this issue. They create a framework by which transit states will take responsibility," he said. Author takes a look at the readmission agreements the European Commission was negotiating with several North African and Eastern European countries since being given a mandate by the European Union in 2000. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Justice and Home Affairs |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
