EU leaders will be discussing illegal immigration in Seville this week. But agreeing a common policy is complicated by the fact that the problems faced by member-states differ, writes Denis Staunton
When European Union leaders gather in Seville on Friday, they will be met, as usual, with street protests and accusations that they are out of touch with the concerns of European citizens. The leaders will ignore the street protests, which will focus mainly on economic issues, but they are stung by the charge of losing touch, partly because some of them suspect it may be true.
However, they hope to reassure citizens by putting at the centre of their meeting one of the hottest political issues in Europe today - illegal immigration. The rise of far-right and anti-immigration parties in France, the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark has convinced the leaders that they must be seen to tackle the problem swiftly and effectively.
At a meeting in Luxembourg last Thursday, justice ministers sketched out the measures the leaders will agree on Friday. They include offering financial help to non-EU countries willing to take back their citizens who have entered the EU illegally.
There will be closer co-operation between border police in the 15 member-states, although the prospect of a single EU border guard remains distant. Rules governing the reception of asylum-seekers will be examined to ensure that the burden is shared more evenly throughout the EU and there will be more effective measures to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the EU by sea, especially in the Mediterranean.
Germany's Interior Minister, Otto Schily, wanted to go further by imposing economic sanctions on countries which fail to co- operate with the EU in the repatriation of illegal immigrants and unsuccessful applicants for asylum. Mr Schily received support from the Irish Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, and Britain's David Blunkett but most ministers favoured greater use of the carrot rather than the stick.
Mr McDowell stressed that any new policy must respect the Geneva Convention and UN agreements on political asylum. He also suggested that human rights could best be safeguarded by creating a fair system that works quickly and efficiently.
"We are not creating a Fortress Europe, we are putting centre stage in our proposals to the heads of government and foreign ministers in Seville the necessity to have regard to our obligations in respect to asylum-seekers and the necessity to have a rational and clearly understood approach to economic migration issues," he said.
Mr McDowell and his EU counterparts believe that failing to tackle illegal immigration will fuel racism. There is little doubt that many Europeans believe that the problem is getting worse.
In fact, however, the number of people seeking asylum in the EU has almost halved in the past decade, from 675,460 in 1992 to 384,530 last year. During the first three months of 2002, the number of applicants fell by almost 30 per cent compared with the same period last year. Most illegal immigrants do not apply for asylum; they enter legally, usually on a holiday visa, and simply stay on. It is more difficult to determine how many such immigrants number but there is little evidence of a sharp increase in recent years.
Creating a single EU policy on immigration and asylum is complicated by the fact that different member-states are facing different problems. In Ireland, for example, immigration, both legal and illegal, is a recent phenomenon that has created problems of adjustment. Italy and Spain face great difficulties in absorbing immigrants and asylum-seekers who cross the sea from North Africa.
In France, many of the complaints about immigrants are directed mainly at the children and grandchildren of North African immigrants rather than new arrivals. In the Netherlands, the rise of the late Pim Fortuyn owed more to disquiet over immigrants who failed to assimilate than to a fresh wave of immigration. Nonetheless, immigration has moved to the top of the political agenda in almost every EU member-state and a number of governments have recently tightened laws governing immigrants.
Denmark's conservative government has introduced a number of new measures, including a law that limits the right of spouses from outside the EU to move to Denmark to couples where both partners are over 24. Austria, Italy and Portugal are introducing a quota system for non-EU immigrants. Residence permits will only be issued to those who can produce a labour contract in the host country.
From next year, immigrants in Austria will be obliged to undergo an "integration course" with an exam at the end. Spain has drastically increased penalties for those who smuggle illegal immigrants into the country and Portugal is abandoning its practice of conferring legal status on illegal immigrants who have been in the country for some years.
The EU has been attempting to create a common policy on immigration and asylum for more than three years but efforts have been hampered by the reluctance of some member-states to harmonise rules governing the treatment of asylum-seekers.
Conditions for asylum-seekers are more comfortable in some countries than in others and the most attractive member-states are those that allow applicants to work while their claims are being processed. In Britain, asylum-seekers are allowed to work within six months of arrival. In Belgium, on the other hand, applicants receive only the bare necessities of life until it is determined whether or not they are genuine refugees.
Despite last week's rhetoric in Luxembourg, there is little sign that the 15 member-states are prepared to take radical steps towards tackling illegal immigration on a European scale. However there is likely to be much more tough talk about immigration for a long time to come.
Denis Staunton is Europe Correspondent of The Irish Times