Brussels, 12/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - Cities on the EU's borders have sounded the alarm about illegal immigration and the president of the Committee of the Regions is calling for European solidarity with these cities. On Wednesday 11 June, he had a meeting with Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström to discuss this subject.
Ramon Luis Valcarcel Siso spoke of the “uncontrollable pressure” from the influx of immigrants on the local and regional authorities, which was even more worrying in the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. He called for emergency measures and closer European level co-operation. He underlined the need for “efficient external border controls, increased cooperation with countries of origin and transit and political and economic solidarity with the regions and cities most affected by immigration”.
Valcarcel visited these two Spanish cities bordering Morocco in April. He informed the commissioner that the cities are unable to manage this crisis situation because thousands of migrants had travelled there since the beginning of the year. He emphasised that “the borders at Ceuta and Melilla are not just Spanish, they are also European”. He also stressed that illegal immigration should be seen as a European problem.
On an essentially practical level, he called for the Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABIT) and the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) to be deployed to help the local authorities in these areas. He also highlighted the need to step up cooperation with migrants' countries of origin, particularly as a means of tackling organised gangs and their extortion practices and migrant trafficking.
Valcarcel, who has drafted a report on the situation in Ceuta and Melilla, urged the commissioner to travel there so that she could assess the urgency of the situation for herself. (MD)