Europe Vows to Help Spain With Crisis

A would-be immigrant looks on after his arrival in a fishing boat to the port of Los Cristianos, on the Canary Island of Tenerife, Monday, May 29, 2006. The archipelago has received more than 7,000 Africans so far this year, more than half to the tourist resort island of Tenerife. At least 1,000 more are believed to have died trying to make the sea crossing, mostly in small fishing boats. (AP Photo/Arturo Rodriguez) (Arturo Rodriguez - AP)

MADRID, Spain -- European countries far removed from Spain's immigration crisis in the Canary Islands pledged Monday to send planes and patrol boats to help stem the flood of destitute Africans seeking a better life, officials said.

Some 400 more migrants arrived at the islands by boat over the weekend. Authorities have intercepted more than 6,000 migrants since January, compared with 4,751 caught in all of 2005.

The accord is a follow-up to an announcement of aid last week from the European Commission in Brussels, although more meetings are planned to decide which countries will send what and who will pay for it, the Spanish Interior Ministry said.

Spain estimates that in addition to its own planes and vessels monitoring small, crowded boats that bring migrants from west Africa to the Canary Islands, the new plan requires at least five patrol boats, five helicopters and a surveillance aircraft, Deputy Interior Minister Antonio Camacho told a meeting of European Union representatives.

The next meeting to decide the details is scheduled for sometime after June 2, the ministry said.

The countries that have agreed in principle to help Spain are France, Britain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland, officials said.

The problem is European _ not just Spanish _ because the Canary Islands are just like any other part of Spain, and in theory at least, borderless EU travel rules mean someone arriving in the islands can travel to many other parts of Europe without having to show a passport.

The new planes and vessels are scheduled to monitor waters off the key departure points for Africans making the long and dangerous trip to the Canary Islands, such as Mauritania, Senegal and Cape Verde.

The accord was announced as hundreds more migrants were intercepted as they arrived in the Canary Islands and a Foreign Ministry official prepared to begin a tour of African countries for talks aimed at halting the trend.

Authorities counted 186 migrants aboard two vessels escorted into Los Cristianos port on the island of Tenerife. Police said three more boats had been seen close to the islands, likely carrying dozens more would-be immigrants.

Another 129 migrants _ including six small babies _ were intercepted on three boats off the island of Fueteventura, and 112 more were found off the coast of the island of La Gomera, Spain's Civil Guard said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry top aide Bernadino Leon was leaving Monday for a tour of seven west African countries for talks aimed at curbing the boat flood.

"The most urgent thing at this moment is that we should be able to cooperate effectively to stop the immigrants leaving," Leon told Spanish National Radio.

___

Associated Press reporter Juan Manuel Pardellas in Tenerife contributed to this report.