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France,
Germany and the UK are currently responsible for processing and returning
more than half of the illegal immigrants in the EU. However, it is alleged
that illegal immigration, initiated and sustained by an established
network of gangs, working for profit, is facilitated by the inadequate
border control in southern European countries (Greece, Italy and Spain).
A
recently adopted European Commission Report confirms that the burden of
coping with illegal immigration is not sufficiently shared between Member
States and that allocated budgets are inadequate for the size of the task.
The
EU Treaty mentions burden sharing in terms of welcoming refugees but the
Commission suggests that this principle should now be extended to cover
all areas of asylum and immigration policy. This change could secure a
vast increase in the budget to tackle illegal immigration, taking effect
in 2007.
The
Commission’s plans for border controls, including a trial project
established by the Common Border Practitioners Unit, has led to the
establishment of 17 co-ordination centres across the EU. The Commission
believes that these centres could form the backbone of an EU Common Border
Guard. But how would such a network be extended to cover an enlarged EU of
25 Member States? And how could we be sure of the quality of vigilance in
the accession countries where there continues to be a problem of poor
governance and civic corruption?
Repatriation
of illegal immigrants remains a matter for individual Member States. The
Commission urges co-ordination and EU minimum standards for assessment and
return procedures with clear guidelines on readmission agreements with
third countries.
The
current UN Refugee Agency Report states that in the last 12 months, the
number of claimants has fallen by 17% in the EU and by 32% in the UK.
However, the UK continues to attract more refugees than most other
countries in the EU.
Why
is the asylum system failing in the EU? Four reasons have been suggested:-
-
Financial
aid for refugees is badly distributed
-
Human
traffickers encourage many who would not otherwise come alone
-
Many
asylum seekers do not qualify as refugees – they are economic
migrants
-
Many
are granted asylum although they do not require protection of the
international community
The
UK government has suggested two possible solutions:-
-
Establish
“regional” centres in the refugees' “home” state where the
claimant can reside ‘under effective protection’ guaranteed by the
EU so that the application can be processed.
-
Provide
for “transit camps” just outside the EU border for refugee claims
to be processed by the relevant Member State government.
These
measures would substantially reduce the cost of processing asylum seekers,
the cost of housing them in detention centres, and reduce social tension
in Britain.
The
EU, with an ageing population, needs nearly 100m more workers over the
next 5 years. Like the USA & Canada, the EU should offer country
quotas worldwide for clearly specified skills to regularise immigration.
Such a programme would minimise illegal immigration and social concerns
for the indigenous European citizens. Such a programme would allow the EU
to have a thriving economy as well as social stability based on a working
multicultural knowledge society.
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