On the occasion of a fact-finding mission to a 'retention centre' for immigrants
on the Canary Islands today, which is part of the Greens/EFA study days, UK
Green MEP and rapporteur for the European Parliament report on the immigration
situation in the Canary Islands Jean Lambert stated:
"The Spanish authorities' handling of the immigration situation in the
Canary Islands has been commendable. Unlike some previous cases, when arriving
migrants were treated as criminals, there is a willingness to understand and
take into account the reasons prompting people to take such massive risks to
enter Europe. The Spanish government has recognised that it is a humanitarian
crisis and has given NGOs access to the so-called 'retention centres'.
"Clearly, there are also some improvements to be made but this requires
resources. The insufficient nature of the EU response is unacceptable. Commitments
to the Frontex mission were meagre and the Spanish government has not received
the support it needed.
"There is a growing acceptance of the need to address the reasons why so
many people are willing to run what is an extremely precarious gauntlet to arrive
in Europe. The lack of a coherent EU immigration policy leaves migrants with
limited alternatives to the hazardous journey by cayuco. There is now a fall-off
in the numbers arriving on the Canary Islands but past experience has shown
that the migratory flows will merely shift. Without coherent EU action on immigration
and development, African migrants will find another entry point next year and
EU leaders meeting in Lahti tomorrow should recognise this."
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Morwenna Holland, Media Officer
tel: 020 7407 6280 or 07813149812
email: media@jeanlambertmep.org.uk
www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk
Notes to editors:
Jean Lambert: In October 2005 Jean was named MEP 2005 for Justice and
Human Rights. Jean was first elected Green Party Member of the European Parliament
for London in the 1999 European elections. She was re-elected in 2004. She is
one of nine MEPs representing London and one of two UK Green representatives
in the European Parliament.