30,000 sub-Saharan immigrants heading toward Spain, EU reports
Around 30,000 African migrants are poised to launch their bid to enter Europe via Spanish territory, according to the vice president of the European Commission, Franco Frattini. Speaking on Wednesday to the assembled interior or justice ministers of European Union member-states, Frattini said that there was no end in sight to the migratory pressure which has built up on Spain's North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in recent weeks. "Intelligence suggests that around 20,000 migrants are waiting in Algeria ready to begin their journey to Morocco and then Ceuta and Melilla, with another 10,000 already waiting in Morocco," Frattini told the council of ministers. "This is a clear indication of the mounting migratory pressure on Morocco and Europe," he said, adding that there was "no indication" that this pressure "will decrease in the short term." Spain's justice minister, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, celebrated the fact that "Europe has realized the full extent of the problem." Indeed, there were encouraging words for the Spanish government, with Frattini saying that it was "time to help Spain and Morocco resolve the situation." Brussels is to help Spanish and Moroccan cooperation on the policing of borders, and will send experts from the recently formed external borders agency to advise Moroccan forces on the patrolling of its frontier with Europe. In terms of financial assistance, Brussels promised to release the long-promised €40 million to help Morocco fund its anti-immigration efforts. The European Commission estimates that between €15 and €20 million will become available in 2006. Morocco is currently bussing hundreds of sub-Saharan immigrants to various destinations before deportation.
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