Crucial coordination. It is time to leave empty rhetoric behind and face the facts. The only way to proceed is to decide upon and gradually introduce a suitable EU response to illegal immigration. That is exactly what EU interior ministers did in Toledo last week at a meeting convened by the Spanish Presidency. They did not ignore the basic rules that the EU and all its member states have to respect, but the ministers made no attempt to hide the fact that the main concern facing them is illegal immigration (see issue 10062). Before the meeting, France and Greece clubbed together to call for EU measures to deal with the situation in the Mediterranean, like surveillance of the EU's maritime borders by FRONTEX, countries pooling resources to fly illegal aliens back, etc. Several ministers briefed the meeting on the specific problems facing their own country.
Back in September (issues 9969 and 9970), I discussed the issue in my column, along with the often unbearable situation in some of the member states and I shall not repeat my arguments here. Instead, I would like to talk about the need for coordination of the various aspects of EU action. Take the example of Greece. EU institutions and bodies dealing with business and finance (like the ECOFIN Council, Eurogroup, the European Commission and the European Central Bank) are naturally putting pressure on Greece to get it to solve its budget problems and sort out its public finance system. Greece is making an effort to comply and has already managed to win back some trust on the financial markets. Earlier this week, it managed to get funding of €8 billion (it didn't expect to be granted any more than €5 billion) and could have borrowed even more if had so desired. Excellent news, because it shows that investors trust the Greek economy, explained the Greek finance minister in a press release. There is a price to pay for this - the interest rate for Greece's loans is a whopping 6.2%. By comparison, Germany can borrow at just 3.18% and these are loans in the same currency! The EU is demanding that Greece sticks to the rules governing the eurozone and this is only to be expected. Yet at the same time, it should consider the unsustainable pressure the country is coming under from the waves of illegal immigrants arriving on its shores, mostly from Turkey.
Foreign relations and EU solidarity. Jacques Barrot, who remains a vice-president of the European Commission for a few weeks yet, explained in an interview with this newsletter (see below) that: a) Greece is coming under enormous pressure from illegal immigration; and b) some member states are loathe to agree to joint EU management of immigration and a joint EU asylum policy. This is a question of foreign relations (relations with Libya, Turkey and a handful of other countries) and EU solidarity. Jacques Barrot said he was optimistic that a true partnership would be formed with Turkey because negotiations are making progress, but he said that it would take time for the impact of any partnership to trickle down. What the EU is demanding of Greece in terms of public finance needs an immediate response because the stability and value of the euro and proper functioning of the eurozone require this. The rumours of Greece being lent money by other member states (reported in Le Monde and yesterday's issue of this newsletter) have been denied, as have the rumours, reported in the Financial Times, of Greece negotiating the terms of a loan with Beijing. The Greek prime minister said the rumours were just an attempt to destabilise the eurozone by attacking its weakest link.
A strong policy is beneficial to illegal immigrants. Whatever the truth is in the financial market, the sheer burden of the illegal immigrants cannot be ignored. This is not just an issue for Greece but also for Malta and the other member states on the Mediterranean. This is a highly charged and very strategic issue, as shown by France's pique at the landing of illegal immigrants in Corsica. People should not be allowed to come and go as they please on EU shores.
It is vital to remember that a strong policy is beneficial to illegal immigrants. A laissez-faire approach would increase their misery because it simply encourages disgusting individuals to make a fortune by lying to and endangering the lives of increasing numbers of would-be immigrants. The people traffickers strip the would-be immigrants of their cash and then leave them stranded at sea or on a beach. Illegal immigration also hinders the integration of legal immigrants, causing tragic human disasters and running the risk of encouraging xenophobia in poor areas of the EU. Europe needs immigrants but not at any old price. (F.R./transl.fl)