Britain, Spain To Combat Illegal Immigration
April 23, 2008 2:17 p.m. EST
D.C. Morales - AHN News Writer

Madrid, Spain (AHN)-The British and Spanish governments agreed to enhance cooperation to combat illegal immigration from Africa into the European Union (EU).

"Spain and the United Kingdom can work together to help the EU deal effectively with the human tragedy of illegal immigration, and we can stimulate the EU into becoming a model power and promoter of human and economic development across the globe," Britain's minister for Europe Jim Murphy said during his speech at a lunch at Spain's New Economic Forum.

According to Murphy, Britain and the other EU members can learn a lot from

Spain's experience on the issue particularly in North Africa. Spain has signed deals with seven West African countries in a bid to control the flow of migrants.

Based on estimates of national statistics institute INE, the number of immigrants living in Spain soared from around half a million in 1996 to 4.5 million by the end of 2006 out of a total population of 45.12 million people.
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