Spanje vraagt EU om meer hulp tegen immigratie (en)

Spain will seek more EU aid and co-operation to help halt the increasing number of illegal immigrants arriving from the African continent, as refugee boats continue to arrive in unprecedented numbers.

Spanish deputy prime minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega will this week travel to Finland, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, as well as to Brussels.

Ms Fernandez de la Vega will on Tuesday (29 August) meet with Finnish president Tarja Halonen and prime minister Matti Vanhanen in Helsinki.

On Wednesday, she will hold talks with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso i as well as external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner i and home affairs commissioner Franco Frattini i.

The Spanish politician said on Friday (26 August) that although Spain was very grateful for the help currently offered, it was not enough to manage the scope of the problem, Associated Press reports.

She added that the visit is another step in the Spanish government's efforts to make "all the countries of the EU more involved in the search for a solution to the irregular migratory movements."

"It is a common issue, those who arrive at our borders, also arrive to the European continent," she added.

In August alone, more than 4,800 Africans reached Spain, mainly the Canary Islands. Over 18,000 migrants, mostly young men, have arrived in the Canary Islands in fishing boats this year compared to the 4,700 who arrived in 2005, according to the Spanish government.

Over the weekend, around 22 immigrants died on their way from west Africa to Canary Islands.

Earlier this month, the EU has launched its first joint border patrol aimed at stopping the illegal immigrants coming to the Canary Islands from Africa.

The Canary Islands mission, dubbed Hera II, is expected to last nine weeks and is covered by an EU budget of €3.2 million, with Spain co-financing the project.

Meanwhile, home affairs ministers from Malta, Italy and Libya will meet in Valetta next week to discuss the problem of illegal immigration in the Mediterranean, Maltese press reports.