Luxembourg, 28/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Friday Commissioner Franco Frattini explained to Ministers of the Interior from the Twenty Five that he would be proposing an official list on 1-2 June at the JHA Council of safe countries where illegal immigrants can be sent back to when they are found on European soil. A diplomatic source indicated to EUROPE on Friday that, “at this stage, the Commission believes it possible to obtain a broad consensus on the seven countries concerned”. These countries are: Benin; Botswana; Cap Verde; Ghana; Senegal; Mali and the Island of Mauritius. The idea of setting up such a list at a European level was re-introduced in mid-January by the French Minister of the Interior, Nicolas Sarkozy (EUROPE 9109). There are still several problems at present that are preventing the Commission making this list public. Firstly, the Commission is still waiting for Member States to provide it with their national lists of safe countries in order to find a common denominator. Germany, through the voice of its Secretary of State for Internal Affairs, Peter Altmaier, said that he was “ready to cooperate fully”, as was Slovenia. The Commission wants to be sure that the list it is proposing does not contain countries where the practice of genital mutilation exists. This is why Niger was not put on the list.