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Spain launches diplomatic offensive on illegal immigration

By m.p.
Tue, 29 Aug 2006, 22:26



The Deputy Prime Minister, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega (left), with the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen. Photo - EFE.

The Deputy Prime Minister has announced that the government is launching a ‘diplomatic offensive’ to make the European Union realise that illegal immigration must be addressed as a problem which affects the EU as a whole.

María Teresa Fernández de la Vega was speaking after her meeting in Finland on Tuesday with Tarja Halonen, the President of Finland, and Matti Vanhanen, the country’s Prime Minister. Finland currently holds Presidency of the European Union.

Fernández de la Vega said at the meeting that Frontex, the EU’s external borders agency, should be given more resources to combat illegal immigration. She also asked that the Frontex mission to patrol the coast of Senegal remain in place until December: the current end date for the surveillance operation of illegal immigrant boats is September.

The Deputy Prime Minister will make her requests official at a meeting with the President of the European Commision, José Manuel Durao Barroso, in Brussels on Wednesday.

The number of illegal immigrants who have reached the Canary Islands up until 28th August this year- 4,772 - is more than the total for all 12 months of 2005, when there were 4,751.

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