Brussels, 08/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - Talks between Louis Michel, European Development Commissioner, and Adán Martín Menis, President of the Canary Islands, in Brussels on Thursday, tackled the question of managing migratory flows from African countries by using the EU development policy with ACP countries (African, Caribbean, Pacific). The recent agreement by EU Member States for beginning the joint development aid programme could be used to advantage to meet this end by mobilising the groups of countries interested by one and the same project in a given African country. Mr Michel said that the added value of the Canary Islands in cooperation projects with ACP countries from whence migratory flows spring has convinced him of the advantage of working together. “We have agreed in line with the European consensus (Ed.: which, in December last, established the new framework for EU development policy) to proceed to joint programming between the European Commission and Spain for financing development projects that open up prospects for countries from which migratory flows come such as Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Cape Verde. The aim (…) is to respond to the problem of migratory flow with a real development policy in the countries of origin (…). I do not believe in sending them (Ed.: the migrants) back to where they came from. I do not believe in closing borders. And no-one will make me believe that à-la-carte immigration or migration policy depending on our needs will be to the benefit of development”, Mr Michel said.
By end June, a technical meeting will be organised between the DG Development, the Spanish government, the representatives of the Canary Islands and the Member States interested, to identify the resources available in the 9th European Development Fund (EDF) which could be redirected, by end 2007, for this kind of project. Also, in September, a high level meeting between the Commission, Spain, the Canary Islands, and ECOWAS (Economic Community of Western African States) and the African Union would allow a pilot cooperation scheme to be launched between the EU and the very outlying regions for the development of ACP countries. The creation of an ACP Facility of €25 million for developing the management of migratory flows was announced during the ACP/EU Council in Port Moresby. It will finance technical assistance and statistical work for harmonising data on real migratory flows.
Speaking to the press, the President of the Canary Islands stressed the dramatic situation of African children who are making the crossing in ever greater numbers (400 were counted during the last migratory wave) on “makeshift craft” and that Spain is forced to house, feed and educate since the entry into force of the law on minors, at an estimated cost of €10 million annually. He called for a political commitment on the part of the EU to find ways and means to train these youngsters and to help the countries of origin so that migration is no longer conducted in such an uncontrolled manner. The Commission cannot pledge EDF funds in the Canary Islands but it can promote projects for training these children if they return to Africa or, upstream, provide them with a basic education, vocational training, and even support towards a first paid job, through micro-credits, for example.