Europe, Africa Seek to Limit Immigration

Morocco's Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa, right, listens to Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos at the Euro-African conference on migration and developement in the Moroccan capital Rabat. Foreign ministers and representatives from nearly 60 European and African countries met in Rabat to tackle increasing illegal immigration to Europe and the chronic poverty in African countries that fuels it. (AP Photo/Jalil Bounhar) (Abdeljalil Bounhar - AP)

RABAT, Morocco -- European nations sought ways Monday to help finance development in Africa to tackle the poverty and violence that fuel illegal immigration to Europe.

A two-day conference that began Monday was the first to bring together the countries migrants are leaving, the ones they pass through and those they are aiming for, said EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner. The idea originated from Spain and Morocco, supported by France.

The participants said they were seeking ways to defeat illegal immigration at its source _ the poverty-stricken lands that generate such despair among their people that they risk their lives to flee. They hope to set up a cooperative system of development so Africa can take care of its own, and make Europe less of a temptation.

An action plan developed last month in Dakar, Senegal, was being put to ministers and other representatives of nearly 60 countries for approval here Tuesday.

France dangled the idea of micro-credits to encourage citizens of Africa to stay home and develop an entrepreneurial spirit.

"To have $1,000 to start up a store or company is to pass from the shadows to the light," French Foreign Minister Douste-Blazy said at a news conference.

European Parliament member Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert urged the European Union to streamline asylum procedures and introduce a European equivalent of the U.S. "green card," allowing migrants to work legally in destination countries.

The EU parliament has begun urging member states to adopt a common asylum and immigration policy.

Tackling the root causes fueling illegal immigration to Europe is one of the key challenges facing Europe today.

Africans are increasingly pounding on Europe's door _ and as many as 40 percent of those who try to reach the continent across treacherous seas are dying on the way.

The migrants have been undaunted by the risks of crossing or by tightened border controls in Europe, EU officials said.

More than 10,000 people have arrived in Spain's Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa since the beginning of 2006 _ already more than twice as many as in 2005, according to Jean-Philippe Chauzy, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration.

The migrants' swelling numbers and high death rate are "just a few examples of the consequences of a failing European policy," Hennis-Plasschaert said. "Reinforcement of the external borders alone is simply not sufficient."

Countries attending the conference hope to agree on joint patrols in the Mediterranean or off the West African coast and on expanding language training and education of potential legal immigrants, among dozens of other measures.

Until now, Spain has led European efforts to police the Mediterranean, backed by EU funds and logistical support. Spain is often the migrants' first European stop, as they reach the Canary Islands after a risk-filled journey or brave the razor-wire frontier around the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa.

Even before the summit, European and African officials were working together to address the migration crisis. In Belgium on Monday, the EU said it was sending $3.2 million to help Mauritania patrol its borders and help pay for the repatriation of migrants from elsewhere in Africa caught crossing the North African nation. The EU has identified Senegal and Mali as the top countries of origin.

The EU aid money will also be used to provide shelter and food for would-be migrants detained along the way or in Europe.

"No country can succeed alone to master the migratory flux," said Taib Fassi Fahri, Morocco's deputy foreign minister.