European Interior Ministers in Florence for Talks on Terrorism and Illegal Immigration
AP 2004/10/17
Florence
Interior ministers from Italy, France, Germany, Britain and Spain were to search for Europe-wide solutions in the fights against terrorism and illegal immigration during informal talks starting today at a Florentine villa.
One issue likely to top the agenda is Germany's idea for transit camps in North Africa to process would-be asylum seekers before they reach Europe. The talks close Monday with a news conference, and ministers do not plan to release details until then.
German Interior Minister Otto Schily's pitch for North African processing centers for migrants and refugees has had a mixed reaction, both at the European level and at home, with some fearing the camps might violate human rights.
In an interview last week with the German magazine Focus, Schily conceded that the European Union could not prevent people trying to enter Europe illegally across the Mediterranean.
"But we should try to deter them," he argued. "What's to be said against us creating a facility outside the frontiers of Europe that could check whether people have grounds for asylum or other reasons for fleeing?"
Every year, tens of thousands of migrants from Africa, the Middle East and beyond make dangerous trips across the Mediterranean, many in rickety boats or rubber dinghies, hoping to build new lives in Europe. Many boats have overturned or sunk before reaching Europe's shores.
Another issue likely to come up for discussion is European data sharing to help combat terrorism and crime.
Ahead of the meeting, Spanish Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said that all five European countries are pushing the idea of including photographs and fingerprints on EU passports, national identity cards, visas and residency permits.
The change would facilitate investigations of terrorism and organized crime, the minister said in a statement.
Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu is hosting the Florence meeting at a 19th century villa-turned-luxury hotel. Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin of France and British Home Secretary David Blunkett were also expected.
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