Reinforcing “the global approach of the European Union to migration” and proposing “new and concrete measures to better control this phenomenon”: these are the aims of the two Communications on the mass movements of population presented by the European Commission on 30 November. “The first – explains Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini – reinforces the framework for the development of a global policy of the EU on migration”. According to the Commissioner for Security, the Union must “work together with its neighbouring countries, especially with African states, to formulate a common approach to migration and development policies to permit the creation of attractive opportunities in the countries of origin and reduce the wish to emigrate”. It is also essential, he said, to “combat illegal immigration and the trafficking of human beings”, also to stop the “terrible exploitation and loss of human lives that are so often its consequence”. The concrete proposals proposed by the Commission include the establishment of assistance teams to help reduce emigration, the creation of European web portals for professional mobility “that offer African countries information on the opportunities for work in Europe” and the realization, in the countries of origin, of aid centres for migration supported by EU funds.
