Brussels, 28/08/2014 (Agence Europe) - France will be taking part in the new border control operation in the Mediterranean, aiming to help Italy face the influx of illegal immigrants, the country's Home Affairs Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced in Rome on Wednesday 27 August, AFP reports.
“Of course France will be taking part in this operation, which I am in favour of”, he said. “We now have to discuss the details with the other member states.”
On Wednesday evening, the European Commission announced the launch of Frontex Plus by the end of November, to replace the Italian operation Mare Nostrum, a large-scale naval deployment set in place by Italy in October of last year to rescue immigrants, but which the Italian government does not wish to run for a second year. The European Commission has called on the member states to provide the resources required (see EUROPE 11115).
This operation, to be known as Frontex Plus, will take over from Mare Nostrum by the end of November, by merging and extending two operations already underway, Hermes and Aeneas, explained Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, following her meeting with Italian Home Affairs Minister Angelino Alfano.
“Its success will depend on the contribution of the member states”, Malmström has warned, urging more to take part, with more resources and people. The Commission and Italy will also call for “more money” for the mechanism, she stressed. Once the operation is in place, Rome “will gradually start to pull back” its own mechanism, Alfano said. Frontex Plus is not, however, expected to be on the same scale as Mare Nostrum, Malmström added. As part of the Italian operation, the country's Navy has rescued more than 63,000 people attempting to enter the country since the start of the year, according to Rome.
“For maximum effectiveness, our wish is that it (Frontex +) is carried out as close as possible to the northern borders of the Mediterranean”, the French minister explained.
Cazeneuve has begun a tour aiming to discuss an “immigration plan”, in which he calls for relations to be strengthened with the transit countries (Tunisia and Egypt, amongst others), as well as the creation of a European coordinator to facilitate the work between the member states, the immigrants' countries of origin and organisations such as the High Commission for Refugees. (SP)