Thousands reach 'Fortress Europe' each year
Eurostat, the EU statistics office, has said the EU population rose by 2.3 million in 2004, 1.9 million of these were immigrants. About 10 per cent of the Dutch population of 16 million is defined as having 'non-Western' roots, 1 million of them Muslims, mostly from Turkey and Morocco. Among the young in the big cities such as Rotterdam, immigrants are in the majority.
The United Nations has said that Europe hosted 34 per cent of all migrants in 2005, North America 23 per cent and Asia 28 per cent. Only 9 per cent were living in Africa, 3 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 3 per cent in Oceania.
The EU's border agency pledged 2.1 million euros (US$2.64 million) to help co-ordinate EU help to the Canaries and Malta. The money will help organize the EU's first joint sea patrol mission, aimed at stopping migrants reaching the Canary Islands. France and Morocco have agreed measures to curb illegal migration to Europe, including offering financial support to stop Africans emigrants sailing to the Canary Islands.
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