http://www.wral.com/apworldnews/9199740/detail.html

NICE, France -- For immigrants from Africa and elsewhere, Italy and Spain have largely opened doors. France, however, is sending the message: Give us your doctors, high-tech whizzes and sports stars _ but not your poor, unskilled masses.

Differing approaches on immigration belie the idea that the 25-nation European Union functions as one, and raise questions about how European and African interior ministers meeting here Thursday and Friday can find common ground.

For years, hundreds of thousands of illegal African immigrants have sought to reach Europe to flee poverty or conflict. Some cram onto rickety boats to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy; others jump fences around Spanish enclaves bordering Morocco _ sometimes with deadly results.

Illegal immigration, terrorism and drug trafficking topped the agenda for high-level Interior Ministry officials from five European countries _ France, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain _ and Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.

Lingering tensions between Algeria and Morocco over the disputed Western Sahara, and the Europeans' lack of a common approach, were likely to dampen any prospect for a solid accord at the conference.

"These European countries have radically different policies on immigration," said Philippe Fargues, an expert in Euro-Mediterranean affairs at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. "It's common for Spain and Italy to legalize the illegals if employers agree, while for France, the response is more legalistic _ deportation."

But across Europe, the immigration debate is creating openings for the far right and prodding mainstream politicians to borrow extremists' anti-immigrant rhetoric.

The far-right British National Party tallied an unprecedented showing in local elections last week, more than doubling its total seats to 50 amid disenchantment among the white working class over a surge of immigrants.

The Netherlands requires new immigrants to pass a language test, and would-be newcomers must pass a cultural-awareness test before they even apply for immigration.

Polls show that immigration is one of the most pressing concerns to the French a year ahead of presidential elections in which popular Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy is hoping to replace President Jacques Chirac.

The French parliament is debating an immigration bill that would stiffen rules for immigrants in France, set up a sort of quota system and give authorities power to cherry-pick who gets in. It would create a "competence and talent" residence card for foreigners who have skills that would benefit France.

Presenting the bill last week, Sarkozy took aim at Spain for granting residence permits to 570,000 illegals last year. Because of open-border rules between many EU states, one member opening up to immigrants is akin to letting them into the other countries, too.

"The Italians, who legalize hundreds of thousands of people every two or three years, know it, too," Sarkozy said. Such amnesties are read by would-be immigrants as: "The border is open!" he said.

In the same speech, he encouraged immigrants to France to "not trouble themselves if they want to leave" _ words reminiscent of far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen's call to newcomers to either love France or leave it.

France, home to about 5 million Muslims largely from former French colonies in North Africa, is struggling to integrate immigrants who arrived many years ago.

France's wave of rioting last fall was centered in impoverished neighborhoods where many immigrants and their children live _ and where feelings of discrimination and alienation are widespread.

Countries like Italy, with its shrinking population, and economically sturdy Spain need new laborers _ though both countries decry illegal immigration.

While Italy has a tough immigration policy, in February its government passed a decree that allowed 170,000 non-EU residents in by 2006. Many were people already living and working in Italy illegally.

Such amnesties mean that immigrants pay taxes and other government fees they didn't as illegals, and save authorities the cost and trouble of repatriating them, said Richard Gillespie, an expert in European and Mediterranean affairs at the University of Liverpool in England.

Gillespie said the flow of illegals is unlikely to stop _ with or without new legislation _ and a better way to halt illegal immigration is to help African countries remain peaceful and develop economically.

"There is always the hope that this is the last regularization program and that migrants will come in the legal framework," he said, "but that doesn't happen."