Europe Immigration News

So far this year, the Spanish Canary Islands have received well over 26,000 illegal migrants from Africa. Some estimates place it at over 30,000. More than half of illegal migrants arriving in the Canaries are Senegalese, and now Spain and Senegal have inked a preliminary deal to handle the illegal immigration by promoting more legal immigration.

A French proposal to ban massive amnesties to illegal immigrants divided the European Union Sept. 30 in Madrid, where foreign and interior ministers from eight Mediterranean countries met to stem the mounting influx of migrants into southern Europe.

Illegal immigration continues to be a sore spot in relations between EU member states as ministers from southern Europe prepare to meet for a brainstorming session on the topic Sept. 29 in Madrid.

Ministers from southern EU nations were preparing to meet in Madrid to develop ideas on how to stem the flow of illegal migrants through the European Union's maritime borders.

Under a new government draft law easing Italy's strict citizenship laws, approximately 331,000 immigrants could apply to become Italian, a newly released study says. According to the survey carried out by the Foundation ISMU (a research centre on multiethnicity) for the Italian social solidarity ministry, 53% of potential applicants are men.

The cabinet approved the draft law in August which significantly eases Italy's citizenship laws.

The European Commission has announced that Romania and Bulgaria will be admitted to the European Union in January 2007, but under strict conditions. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said both countries had made enough progress to join the union.

Bulgaria's PM compared the move as the fall of the Berlin Wall for his nation.

However, both countries will undergo scrutiny for progress in curbing organised crime and corruption, as well as ensuring food safety and the proper use of EU funds.

Supporters of a plan to further restrict immigration in Switzerland, to be voted on in a referendum next weekend, cannot be accused of xenophobia, an expert says. Historian Thomas Gees says the debate on the issue is marked by fundamental differences between the left and right in Switzerland and fails to take account of European integration.