Algeria opposes a proposal by some EU countries to set up holding centres in North Africa to halt the flow of illegal immigrants to the European Union
Published:
25 October 2004 y., Monday
Algeria opposes a proposal by some EU countries to set up holding centres in North Africa to halt the flow of illegal immigrants to the European Union, Foreign Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem said on Sunday.
Algeria is the second North African country after Tunisia to reject the proposals set out by Germany earlier this month for centres to process the immigrants outside EU borders, notably in North Africa. Italy supported the plans.
"(Algeria) cannot accept having a camp on a Maghreb country's territory where illegal immigrants will be cooped up, waiting for their papers to be processed in a European country," official news agency APS quoted him as saying.
It was the first time Algeria has officially reacted to the proposal.
Each year thousands of migrants, the majority from sub-Saharan Africa, arrive in Italy because of its proximity to North Africa. Italy has deported more than 1,000 immigrants to Libya following a repatriation deal with Tripoli.
The European Union has been debating ways to stem the flow but the German proposal has met with resistance.
France has questioned the financing of the plans, and whether they would respect human rights. Paris raised the prospect of the centres attracting human traffickers, who make thousands of dollars smuggling people into Europe.
Belgium has said it opposed the proposal, while Sweden urged the EU to look at ways to address the root causes of illegal immigration.
Šaltinis:
nzherald.co.nz
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
A baby girl loses her mother at birth. A few years later, she is “sold” into domestic labor by her own father.
more »
Scarce and unevenly distributed rainfall has made water a key economic and social development issue in Morocco.
more »
Rainfall in August and September 2009 confirmed the fears of serious risk of natural disasters in years to come resulting from rising sea levels, greater erosion of coastal zones, destruction of the mangroves, and devastating floods.
more »
Fifteen years after the groundbreaking Fourth World Conference on Women, which was held in Beijing in 1995, the international community has clear legal norms on the prohibition of discrimination and the active promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment.
more »
Ahead of International Women's Day, the European Commission strengthened and deepened its commitment to equality between women and men with a Women's Charter.
more »
The World Bank Institute has launched an online multiplayer game, EVOKE, designed to empower young people all over the world, but especially in Africa, to start solving urgent social problems like hunger, poverty, disease, conflict, climate change, sustainable energy, lack of health care and education.
more »
One of the crucial questions facing EU asylum policy is the extent to which countries share the demands of asylum seekers.
more »
Youth in three major universities explored what they can do to address climate change, something that experts in a knowledge-sharing forum in Silliman University in Dumaguete City say is already at Filipinos’ doorsteps.
more »
The Parliament needs to connect more with women voters as research shows them to be trapped in a vicious circle, being under-represented in the EP and EU politics in general and, therefore, less interested and less involved than men.
more »
The streets of India became a kaleidoscope of colour, as locals celebrated Holi.
more »