Brussels, 01/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - In Madrid on Thursday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said they were banking on adoption of the new European treaty for the emergence of a genuine EU immigration policy. At a press conference with the French President, Zapatero said that one of the reasons for agreeing on the basic treaty was to get an immigration policy. He added that if there was a more European immigration policy which decided by a qualified majority vote to ensure appropriate mechanisms, there would no longer be any differences between the two politicians (wanting to dissipate the ill feeling that had been caused when Sarkozy accused Spain of inviting for clandestines by giving 600,000 illegal immigrants their papers in 2005. Wanting to make a fresh start, Nicolas Sarkozy said it was important to look to the future to ensure immigration policy was no longer decided unanimously but rather by qmv (qualified majority voting). We need common, shared instruments for immigration, explained Zapatero, calling for development cooperation, for example, and linking legal residency with finding a job.
In an interview published in Le Figaro on Friday, EU Immigration Commissioner Franco Frattini urged member states to react to the tragedy of the people shipwrecked in the Mediterranean. Referring to recent events off the coast of Libya (see EUROPE 9435), Frattini said international maritime law obliges all UN member states (and therefore all EU member states) to provide assistance to any ship or boat carrying shipwrecked people. He said urgent action was needed among Europeans to ensure such incidents did not happen again. Saving lives in an absolute priority, he added. What about the responsibility of member states which fail to respect their obligations under international law? Given the EU's lack of powers in this field, the Commissioner was only able to suggest debate at the political level at the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on 12 and 13 June in Luxembourg. He said that Frontex would be resuming patrols in the Mediterranean from the end of June until the autumn, focussing on the Canary Islands where clandestines were expected to arrive in the summer. Frontex currently has 21 aircraft, 27 helicopters and 116 ships, along with other technical equipment. Frattini said that the long-term objective was to have permanent European border guards but said there was strong resistance among member states to moves in this direction. In terms of legal immigration, he said he was planning to suggest a European 'Blue Card' in September to allow foreigners to live in the EU for five years and travel without a visa, subject to a check on their qualifications (see EUROPE 9413). (bc)