Brussels, 19/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - Jean Lambert MEP (Greens, Britain) congratulated Spain on its humane treatment of illegal immigrants arriving on its coasts. During a visit to a retention centre for immigrants on Thursday, Lambert stated, “the Spanish authorities' handling of the immigration situation in the Canary islands has been commendable”. She explained in a press statement that, “Unlike in some previous cases, when arriving migrants were treated as criminals, there is a willingness to understand and take into account the reasons prompting people to take such massive risks to enter Europe”. The MEP also congratulated the Spanish government for recognising that the massive number of illegal immigrants was a humanitarian crisis and had therefore given NGOs access to the retention centres. Ms Lambert, however, stressed that more effort and resources were needed to help Spain. She considers that given the meagre commitments made to Frontext and the lack of support to Spain, the EU response has been both “insufficient” and “unacceptable”. The MEP affirmed that, “Without coherent EU action on immigration and development, African migrants will find another entry point next year and EU leaders meeting in Lahti tomorrow should recognise this”. The Greens/EFA group at the European Parliament has for this reason chosen to organise a public debate on 16-19 October on immigration policy and its effects in the EU. (bc)