Brussels, 16/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - A number of projects, which will help Malta, Italy, Greece, Sweden and Spain cope with the challenges of illegal immigration by sea and the influx of Iraqi asylum seekers, have been selected by the European Commission for funding. On Wednesday 14 November, Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini said, “The result of the call for proposals for 'Assistance to Reception Challenges' is a success”. He added that “the projects to be co-financed will represent a concrete example of co-operation between member states and burden-sharing in order to deal more effectively with the challenges of illegal immigration”.
The indicative amount available for this call for proposals is €7,000,000. This new budget line for 2007 was voted in December 2006 by the European Parliament in order to finance a number of migration actions which are complementary to the general framework programme entitled “Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows” for the period 2007-2013, and which have the potential to provide additional answers to the challenges posed by migratory flows.
One Maltese project has been selected as a pilot project for upgrading facilities in reception centres through the coordination of existing services and the provision and development of social welfare services, skills training and communal activities. The EU co-financing amounts to around €310,000.
Phase III of the Italian project “Praesidium”, Phases I and II of which were co-financed by the Commission, has been selected. It will consolidate reception capacities in Lampedusa, Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria, Apulia and Rome, in partnership with UNHCR, IOM, the Italian Red Cross and Save the Children Italia ONLUS. The project aims to improve Italy's response capacity to arrivals of mixed population flows, such as economic migrants, asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors. Specific attention will be given to the latter category and to victims of trauma. The level of co-financing for this project will be of the order of €1,000,000.
Two projects have been selected to help Sweden cope with the influx of Iraqi asylum seekers, with activities such as ensuring an efficient reception and management of Iraqi asylum application, developing and running new comprehensive initial asylum handling procedures for Iraqi asylum applicants and launching an Iraqi support desk. The two proposals will receive co-financing of some €3,500,000.
Also selected is a Greek project called “Aegeas” to enhance reception capacity for migration flows at border areas of Greece, that is, EU external maritime and land borders. In cooperation with UNHCR, it aims to improve practices and exchange of information and knowledge, in coping with increased and unpredictable illegal migration via the country's maritime borders and the increase in the numbers of Iraqi asylum seekers in general. Co-financing for Greece amounts to about €420,000.
The remainder of the amount available will help Spain respond to the massive numbers of migrants arriving in the Canary Islands and Andalusia with no form of identification. It will mean new reception centres can be set up in the Canaries and in Grenada and provide migrants with the means of subsistence, and medical and language assistance in ten reception centres. (O.L.)