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
For the last 15 years European citizens living in another European country have been able to vote in that country's local and European elections.
more »
Zimbabwe is suffering from cholera.
more »
Metropolitan Kirill will head the Russian Orthodox Church temporarily following the death of Patriarch Alexiy II on Friday.
more »
U.S President George W. Bush celebrates his final Christmas in office - the lighting of the National Christmas tree.
more »
Under new draft laws, people travelling by bus and ship would enjoy the same rights as those taking a plane or train, including the right to meals, hotel accommodation and alternative services if the trip is cancelled or interrupted.
more »
The importance of individual happiness, which can be achieved with the help of universal human values - whether religious or non-religious - was one major theme in an address by the 14th Dalai Lama to the European Parliament on Wednesday.
more »
Although the European Parliament is now much more powerful than when it was first directly elected in 1979, voter turnout for elections has declined steadily, reaching a new low in 2004.
more »
The free tours are run by Sandemans New Europe - set up in 2004 by Chris Sandeman, who chose tourism over his family's traditional sherry business.
more »
Eighteen months after it began work, Parliament's Temporary Committee on Climate Change called for an 80% cut in greenhouse gases by 2050, binding interim targets to improve energy efficiency 20% by 2020 and incentives to encourage everyone to do their bit.
more »
Israeli experts are using good old mathematical models to give a face in a photo the ideal characteristics in just a few mouse clicks.
more »