European countries facing North Africa across the Mediterranean divide called on its leaders on Friday to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.
Muslim North Africa, with a population of 80 million, of whom most earn less than US$2,000 a year, is facing an exodus of its own and has become a transit point for tens of thousands of sub-Saharan Africans seeking a better life in the West.
The leaders of 10 western Mediterranean countries, including France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, are holding an informal and unprecedented summit in Tunisia to discuss immigration, the US-led war on terror and closer economic ties.
PHOTO: EPA
In recent months, dozens of Africans have drowned trying to reach the West on rickety boats, often via Malta or across the Strait of Gibraltar between Morocco and Spain.
"Europe has needed immigrants and continues to need them but not in conditions of anarchy and indignity," Romano Prodi, president of the EU's executive Commission, told the meeting.
While the two-day forum was officially about boosting ties, behind closed doors Western leaders were expected to press their North African neighbors to tackle clandestine immigration.
An estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants enter the wealthy bloc each year. The issue is gaining importance as the EU prepares to admit 10 new member states in May next year.
"Fortress Europe wants North Africa to keep its citizens at home as well as preventing the region from becoming a transit point," a French diplomat said.
The leaders of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia say there is little they can do on their own and some have requested more financial and technical help from the EU.
Morocco's King Mohammed told the meeting illegal migration had "perverse effects on relations," an apparent reference to tension with Spain over the issue.
He said the issue required "an integrated security approach within the framework of a global cooperation ... with more technological means."
French President Jacques Chirac told summit leaders it was essential to stimulate the economies of the Maghreb region.
European governments agree the issue of migration cannot be solved without easing the poverty of many North Africans.
Chirac urged the leaders to solve their differences, a reference to the Western Sahara territorial dispute that has poisoned relations between Algeria and Morocco for more than 25 years.
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