European Ministers Meet for Terror Talks
By TRISHA THOMAS
Associated Press Writer
October 17, 2004, 11:55 AM EDT
FLORENCE, Italy – Interior ministers from Italy, France, Germany, Britain and Spain searched for Europe-wide solutions in the fights against terror and illegal immigration during informal talks Sunday at a Florentine villa.
One issue topping the agenda was 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 Focus magazine, Schily conceded the European Union could not stop all 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?”
While Italy backs the plan, Spanish Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso is one of several European ministers who have raised concerns.
“We’re not going to back any initiative that does not respect minimum social and humanitarian conditions,” he said last week.
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.
The issue is difficult for Italy, as many boats try to reach the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, which is closer to Africa than to the Italian mainland. Italy has been criticized for a new policy of quickly repatriating migrants who arrive from Libya – a tactic human rights groups say denies the migrants the chance to apply for asylum.
Other issues likely to come up for discussion include cooperation on policing, data sharing and border controls to fight international terrorism.
Ahead of the meeting, the Spanish minister said Saturday that the five European countries were pushing to have EU passports, national identity cards, visas and residence permits include both photos and fingerprints to help facilitate investigations of terrorism and organized crime.
Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu is hosting the meeting at a 19th century villa-turned-luxury hotel in Florence. Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin of France and British Home Secretary David Blunkett were also attending.