Talks aim to stop Balkan human traffic

Date: 07/02/02

EUROPEAN Union ministers meeting next week will discuss plans to stop thousands of illegal immigrants entering western Europe from the Balkans.

Proposals to curtail human trafficking will also be on the agenda of EU justice and interior ministers gathering in Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain on Wednesday (13 February).

The meeting aims to draw up an EU-wide policy on how best to deal with the strains caused by illegal immigration.

Human-traffickers are exploiting border controls in the Balkan region that have become lax during years of unrest, according to a new EU report, which found that as many as 200,000 Chinese were in Yugoslavia waiting to be smuggled into western Europe.

Many migrants from eastern Europe begin their journey across the EU by illegally crossing the Hungarian or Czech border with Austria. The other major routes for the human traffic are through Albania to the Italian coast and from Morocco through southern Spain.

One of the main items under discussion by ministers from EU member states will be an initiative by Spain, which currently holds the rotating, six-month presidency of the EU, to combat illegal immigration.

The action plan put forward by Madrid includes proposals to improve the exchange of information between EU countries, a review of visa policy and increasing police cooperation.

'It is hoped a plan of action can be put together to tackle the problem, as requested by EU leaders at the Laeken summit,' said one European Commission official, who added that so-called immigration 'hotspots' will be targeted, particularly routes from Morocco and the Balkans.

The future of Europol, the European law enforcement agency, and a pan-European prosecution service, will also be under discussion at the informal meeting.

European Union ministers are due to discuss plans to stop thousands of illegal immigrants entering western Europe from the Balkans when they meet at Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 13 February 2002.