Curbs alone cannot stem migrant influx-EU official
06 Oct 2008 17:56:54 GMT Source: Reuters
By Ibrahim Guindo BAMAKO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Security measures alone cannot stem the flow of illegal migrants to Europe from Africa and improved cooperation and development are needed to manage the problem, a senior EU official said on Monday. "Migration is a natural phenomenon, an opportunity to be seized and not a curse," European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel said in Mali during the inauguration of an EU-funded migration information office. The exodus from Africa each year of thousands of poor job-seekers searching for a better life in Europe has become a hot political issue for most European Union countries, with many politicians calling for tighter curbs on illegal immigration. The navies and frontier guards of south European states like Spain, Italy and Portugal carry out joint air and sea patrols off West Africa with the cooperation of local governments in a bid to intercept flotillas of rickety, migrant-carrying boats. In comments distributed to journalists for the opening in Bamako of the EU-backed office, Michel said it was wrong to think, as some politicians were urging, that tighter security alone could halt illegal migration to "fortress Europe". "Let me assure you that these are empty promises designed to distract a public shocked by the images of hundreds of Africans -- exhausted, close to death, washed-up on beaches like driftwood," Michel said. "The only response to this pattern of human migration -- that is both intelligent and honest -- is to ensure a two-way dialogue with the countries of origin or transit, to explore enhanced legal co-operation and to offer better development assistance," the EU Commissioner added in his written comments. NO 'JOB CENTRE' The Migration Information and Management Centre (CIGEM) opened in Bamako will be backed by 10 million euros ($13.59 million) of EU funding. It will offer information aimed at deterring unlawful migration and encouraging legal travel by migrants from Mali and other parts of West Africa. But Michel said it was not a "job centre" offering specific employment in Europe. "Malians will not walk into this centre and then as if by magic walk out again in a European capital with a job," the commissioner said in his prepared statement. Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure, who attended the inauguration along with French Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux, also echoed Michel's argument that a security approach alone would not provide a definitive solution. "We're powerless in the face of this phenomenon," Toure said. According to data from Spain's interior ministry, between January and August, the number of illegal immigrants arriving by boat on Spain's coast fell 8 percent compared to a year earlier and 64 percent compared to 2006. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/) (Writing by Pascal Fletcher; editing by Alistair Thomson)
