Migration to the European Union.

international | eu | other press Tuesday September 21, 2004 19:28 by iosaf

some indicatory figures.

The main excess points to the EU for those seeking work or escaping repressive regimes are Italy and Spain.

The overwhelming majority of migrant workers within the EU who were not born in the EU have passed through these countries.

Thereafter the majority have come by land routes to the east or by air to Heathrow London.

Here are the figures from the Spanish government published yesterday in El Pais for expulsions, rejections and deportations between January 1 and August 31 2004

total cases of expulsion / rejection / deportation at frontiers of the Spanish State - 73,474

an average of 303 "sin papales" a day, or 12.6 an hour or one every five minutes.

11,022 migrants proceeding from North and Sub Saharan Africa were detained in boats or rafts and refused entry at the Canary islands (40km west of the African mainland) or in the Mediterranean Coast.

41,192 migrants have been rejected and then processed at the Catalan/French border alone. This being ample proof of the intention of the vast majority of migrants to continue to other member states of the European Union where their cheap labour is demanded. But also of a counter flow of migration from France to Spain particularly of east Europeans (note non EU state east europeans)
This figure contrasts with the 24,114 migrants rejected and then processed by that centre in the period from January 1st to August 31 of last year 2003.

the Reject figures include thousands who had returned to their countries for personal reasons by air and subsequently been disallowed re-entry in Spanish airports (who are mostly Central and South American in origin) or had attempted to go beyond the conditions of the entry to the Spanish State. As well as those of African continental origin. Surprisingly few migrants of non Spanish speaking North America were rejected at airports but some were.

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For those migrants who were not rejected at frontiers (the vast majority of whom who attempted entry by sea) deportation is the main end result of processing.

Average Cost of Repatriation / Deportation to states with which Spain does not share a frontier :-

Ecuador.
3834€ in travelling by normal flight.
3353€ in chartered aircraft.

Rumania.
1863€ normal flight.
1389€ charter flight

Bulgaria
2930€ normal flight
1453€ charter flight.

China
6750€ (no charters for period)

Senegal
2000€ (no charter flights for period)

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source - El Pais newspaper,
Tomás Barbulo - print edition of 20/9/04

[El Pais is like the Irish Times a subscription only online newspaper that carefully uses little programs to stop search engines giving you a direct link to the sort of information many of us thought long ago should be available for free. Which is why we give it to you for free. Once a copy of the Irish Times or El Pais is out of date it is freely available in public libraries. However those who wish to source such information in the public domain must pay (using electronic means only) for the right to read these pages.
This is very bad. Worse than bad, it is a sure sign that both newspapers no longer take seriously their lost reputations as newspapers of reference. ]