FT.com / Brussels - Italians fear African migration surge

Italians fear African migration surge

By Stanley Pignal in Brussels and Giulia Segreti in Rome

Published: February 21 2011 23:23 | Last updated: February 21 2011 23:23

Fears of a possible surge of north African immigrants undermined European efforts to craft a joint response to Libya’s bloody crackdown against anti-government protesters.

In the wake of the bloodshed in Tripoli, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels condemned the violence and called for restraint on all sides, as they considered the repercussions of the wave of fallen and tottering regimes in the region.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

EU to step up Mediterranean control - Feb-19

Editorial Comment: Schengen roadblocks - Jan-31

Asylum case tests policy on borders - Jan-21

EU’s newcomers smart over Schengen delay - Jan-21

Visa rules eased for Balkan countries - Nov-09

Strike gives Sarkozy respite - Sep-21

But Italy, which has in recent years seen a huge influx of illegal immigrants arrive from Libya, sounded a more conciliatory tone, worried that the departure of the Gaddafi regime could result in more migrants.

Franco Frattini, foreign minister, warned of the dangers of Libya becoming an “Islamic Arab Emirate at the border of Europe”, as he reiterated calls for a closer partnership with north Africa, which would provide European trade and investment in exchange for political reform.

The division followed last week’s threat by Libya to stop co-operation on migration matters if the EU encouraged protesters. The warning was dismissed as “state blackmail” by France and Germany.

Fears of a surge in illegal immigrants are most acute in Italy. Lampedusa island near Sicily has received nearly 6,000 migrants from Tunisia since the regime there collapsed last month.

Officials fear the numbers could swell if anarchy grips Libya.

Under the terms of a secretive 2009 deal between Rome and Tripoli, the Libyan authorities have co-operated in intercepting boats seeking to cross to Europe, also taking back migrants caught by Italian coastguards without assessing their claims to asylum under international law.

The agreement, which has been severely criticised by the Vatican and human rights organisations, has proved effective. Immigrants landing at Lampedusa have decreased by 98 per cent, from 37,000 in 2009 to 400 in 2010.

At Rome’s request, the European Commission on Sunday started co-ordinating a taskforce of border specialists to help patrol around Lampedusa.

Silvio Berlusconi, Italian prime minister, will hold a special cabinet meeting on Thursday to discuss the issue of illegal immigration from North Africa.

During his last visit in Rome last August, Mr Gaddafi urged the EU to give $7bn a year to curb the flow of African migrants.

Under the accord, Italy pledged to pay $7bn over 20 years as reparations for its colonial rule from 1911 to 1943.

In return, Libya not only granted the immigration deal, but also gave Italian companies priority in infrastructure projects.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

• Print article
• Email article
• Clip this article
• Order reprints

0){if( imageelement.length> 0 ){imageelement = imageelement + ",";}imageelement = imageelement + storyImages[i];}}var dateFormatted = formatDate(lastPublicationDateelement);var textarticle = "Clip this article";var urlelement = document.URL;var finalparameter = "http://clippings.ft.com/clipthis/js?containerid=clipthislinkcontainer&output=text&nocache=Math.random()&url=" + urlelement + "&title=" + headlineelement + "¬e=" + summaryelement + "&datepublished=" + dateFormatted + "&images=" + imageelement;var script = document.createElement("script") script.setAttribute("type", "text/javascript") script.setAttribute("src", finalparameter );document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(script);

via ft.com