By Martha Moss - 3rd May 2011
A British diplomat has warned that an increase in illegal immigration as a result of recent events in north Africa could affect Europe's ability to keep its borders open.
Andy Lebrecht, the UK's deputy permanent representative to the EU, said that uprisings in the region had led to a "significant increase" in the number of illegal immigrants entering Europe.
These were particularly problematic and had "created tensions" given the strained economic situation and at a time of high unemployment, he told participants in the Parliament Magazine's Brussels spring briefing.
Lebrecht was speaking after the EU announced that it was considering reintroducing national border controls at its internal borders, at the request of Italy and France.
Highlighting the impact of the popular uprisings in north Africa, he added, "Nobody knows where these events will lead, but the EU has a major interest in stability [in the region]."
While the EU could not offer membership to help boost security in the affected countries, Lebrecht said that Brussels could help through closer economic integration and helping the countries to establish themselves as prosperous societies.
The European commission said on Wednesday it would seek to "replace the unilateral re-introduction of border controls" in the Schengen zone, which allows for passport-free movement between 25 EU member states.
The commission said the national border checks would be used only in exceptional circumstances and as a last resort.
However, MEPs warned that Schengen must not be weakened, and called for all checks to be strictly justified.
EPP deputy Carlos Coelho, who sits on parliament's civil liberties committee, said, "Schengen is free movement and, like the euro, is one of the symbols of Europe."
Claude Moraes, the Socialist spokesman on civil liberties, justice and home affairs, also warned that "any attempt to restrict people's freedom of movement in the EU would be to damage one of the founding principles of the Europe we want, and a blow to citizens' fundamental rights".
"The Sarkozy-Berlusconi demand for stricter border checks is ironic," he said. "It betrays their mistrust in each other's ability to deal with migration and it shows that instead of working together to find solutions, they prefer to bring back barriers between countries."
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.