Strasbourg, 05/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union, Frontex, will this Thursday kick of the second plank of its (patrol) operations in the Straits of Sicily between Sicily and Malta (Nautilus II), the commissioner for immigration, Franco Frattini, announced in Strasbourg on Tuesday evening. “The second mission, 'Nautilus II', will be launched on Thursday” to stem the tide of illegal immigrants arriving in Europe, Mr Frattini told EUROPE, on the sidelines of the plenary session of the European Parliament. This mission will involve “five countries” (Malta, France, Spain, Germany and Greece), which already took part in the first phase of the operation, which was concluded at the end of July, “plus Italy”, the Commission added, welcoming the decision of Italian Interior Minister Giuliano Amato. The previous mission had been suspended since 27 July in the Mediterranean, further to a “risk analysis” carried out in cooperation with the member states (EUROPE 9488). He also announced the launch of another operation between now and the end of September off the coast of Sardinia, the Balearic Islands and the eastern coast of Spain, mainly to cut off immigration channels from Algeria. This operation, which will be entitled “Hermes”, is expected to involve the same states as those taking part in the Nautilus II operation. The commissioner also voiced his concern at the disappearance of migrants who recently arrived in Sardinia. “These migrants from Algeria were almost certainly trying to reach Corsica, a French-speaking area”, he said. With regard to the effectiveness of the various operations carried out in 2007, Mr Frattini said that he was very satisfied. He put forward some figures announcing a drop of around 42% in illegal migrants reaching the central Mediterranean area compared to 2006 figures, and a reduction of 70% on the coast of the Canary Islands. He feels that these statistics prove that the rules of engagement of the states involved in the Frontex mission are working well, particularly as regards the identification and repatriation of illegal migrants. As for how to share out asylum seekers between the member states, this is another problem altogether, Mr Frattini concluded. (bc)