The government of Greece this year announced that Greek passports issued prior to 01 January 2006 will no longer be valid from 01 January 2007. During 2006, anyone holding a non-biometric passport needed to get a new one.
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Europe Immigration News
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Nearly 650 illegal immigrants crammed in a 25-meter, old and leaky fishing boat, reaching the Italian island of Sicily on 19 December and sparking criticisms of the center-left government's immigration policies.
The 648 immigrants, 21 of whom were women and seven children, declared themselves as Egyptian nationals. They were taken to migrant processing centers on Sicily to determine their identities.
Just in time for the New Year, the European Parliament last week signed into law a fiercely debated piece of European Union legislation aimed at rejuvenating Europe's massive services sector.
A ceremony took place in Strasbourg, with Parliament's President Josep Borrell and Finnish Minister of Trade Mauri Pekkarinen signing the text. They represent the two "arms" of the EU law-making process: elected MEPs and the Council of EU Ministers representing the EU-25 governments.
According to a European Commission projection this week, the Eurozone economy is strong enough to withstand expected weak U.S. economic performance, higher German taxes and lowered exports for 2007.
The eurozone consists of twelve of the current twenty-five European Union member states using the single European currency - the euro (€; ISO 4217 code EUR). The eurozone is forecast to grow by 2.6% this year.
Sweden's statistics office reported on 19 December that immigration to Sweden is expected to reach a record high this year, in part due to a temporary easing of asylum rules.
Preliminary data showed 96,800 people will have migrated to the Nordic country by year-end, up 48% compared to the year before, it said in a statement.
The office - the SCB - "has counted the number of immigrants since 1875 and the number has never been as high as in 2006," it said.
A fishing boat crowded with more than 100 African migrants capsized at least twice while sailing to Spain's Canary Islands, spilling passengers and leaving scores dead as survivors drifted for about 10 days without food or water, officials reported on 18 December.
The boat sank off Senegal's coast two days earlier and a Red Cross official said at least 80 migrants died. Fishermen rescued about two dozen people in the water near St. Louis, and about 12 were hospitalized at the health clinic in this northern Senegal town.