Spanish Minister Says EU "Lacks Commitment" on Immigration
August 31, 2006
Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega was in Brussels Wednesday to urge EU states to come to its aid in the struggle to contain the floods of illegal immigrants arriving on the Canary Islands from North Africa.
De la Vega followed up a trip on Tuesday to current European Union presidency holder Finland by telling senior EU officials in Brussels more had to be done and the bloc as a whole showed a "lack of commitment" in dealing with the problem.
The number of immigrants arriving in 2006 has exceeded the totals of previous years with about 19,000 refugees landing on the Spanish Islands to date, compared to the previous annual record of 9,900, in 2002.
The deputy prime minister stressed that Spain could not deal with the constant flow from Africa alone and Madrid was "concerned at the slowness of certain initiatives."
More refugee arrivals than ever
According to Canary Islands authorities, in August alone over 4,700 refugees arrived on their shores, which is more than the total for 2005.
Three months ago De la Vega forcibly put Spain's case forward but despite receiving air and sea surveillance assistance from the EU borders monitoring body Frontex, the influx has continued unabated with the surveillance programme still not fully operational.
Only Finland, Italy and Portugal have so far committed patrol boats or surveillance planes to Frontex, operating off Mauritania, Senegal and Cape Verde, joining Spanish officials already working in the area.
After talks with De la Vega, EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said: "It is essential that all member states continue to show their political readiness to share the heavy burden which is now carried by a limited number of member states, which do their best to protect the EU external borders."
Frattini announced that the Commission would set up a high-level working group on immigration and asylum issues, to be coordinated by De la Vega, but acknowledged that "there is no quick fix."
Ineffective EU assistance
Hindering Frontex efforts further, one Italian patrol boat, Diciotti, has been stuck for 10 days in the southern Spanish port of Cadiz with engine trouble, while Portugese counterpart Baptista de Andrade has been patrolling off Cape Verde for the past 10 days but has yet to report sightings of any illegal immigrants.
With the continual flow of arrivals, there has been increased political pressure on the Spanish government, and with the Canaries facing regional elections next year, the issue has become highly politicized.
Nationally, the main conservative opposition Popular Party has lambasted the government as incompetent.
Immigrants who survive torrid trips to the islands lasting upwards of 10 days are taken to overflowing reception camps and are then transferred to the mainland for up to 40 days, after which they are given an unenforceable document providing for their expulsion.
''Humanitarian catastrophe'' waiting to happen
Spain announced recently that 11,826 illegal arrivals had been transferred from the Canary Islands to the mainland since January. Most cannot be repatriated in the absence of bilateral agreements with their homeland.
De la Vega criticized EU partner states for their slowness in applying article 13 of the Cotonou Accord on repatriation of immigrants amid the reluctance to commit sufficient resources to the problem.
The Canaries government had after Monday's arrivals called on EU states and the international community to help halt "a humanitarian catastrophe", estimating some 490 would-be immigrants had died at sea this year.