Europe Immigration News

Bitkom, an association lobbying on behalf of the German IT industry, wants to see an actively managed immigration program that focuses on well-educated, young people, its President Willi Berchtold declared.

In the past months there has been a surge of illegal immigrants attempting to leave Africa and enter the EU. While the problem has been on-going for several years, as the EEA begins to heat up and free travel between EU countries becomes easier, an increase in migrants has been noticed. A recent meeting of 57 European and African nations in Morocco discussed possible responses.

Almost 60 European and African countries met July 10 in Rabat, Morocco for a major conference on immigration, following a radical rise of illegal migrants flowing to the EU from the south.

In a sharp departure from other EU nations over the past year, the new Italian government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi has announced that it will grant citizenship to immigrants that can document they have stayed in Italy for five years. Interior Minister Giuliano Amato, speaking for the new centre-left government, said "I see no reason why we should not grant citizenship to those who acquire a residence permit and thus demonstrate their commitment to this country."

• Watch This Video

Last week the French Parliament passed legislation into law to overhaul immigration policy. Most of the new rules make obtaining a visa or work permit much more difficult, and it abolished an old policy of granting legal status to illegal immigrants who could document ten years of residency.

The European Union will push African states to take back illegal migrants but also offer economic help, the EU's top immigration official said July 5.

"We want readmission agreements. Although we are aware of the existing problems, we cannot only focus on repressive measures," EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said.