EUROPEAN BOATS WILL PATROL THE COAST OF WEST AFRICA NEXT MONTH TO TRY TO STOP ILLEGAL MIGRANTS MAKING THE PERILOUS SEA JOURNEY TO SPAIN'S CANARY ISLANDS, THE EU BORDER AGENCY'S DEPUTY DIRECTOR SAID ON WEDNESDAY, ACCORDING TO REUTERS. SPAIN, STRUGGLING TO STEM THE FLOW OF BOATLOADS OF DESPERATE MIGRANTS FROM SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, HAS ASKED THE 24 OTHER EUROPEAN UNION NATIONS FOR HELP. MORE THAN 10,000 IMMIGRANTS HAVE REACHED THE CANARIES BY BOAT THIS YEAR, COMPARED WITH AROUND 4,700 IN THE WHOLE OF 2005. ABOUT 15 EU STATES HAVE RESPONDED POSITIVELY TO SPAIN'S CALL AND WILL TAKE PART IN THE SEA PATROL MISSION TO TRY TO INTERCEPT ILLEGAL MIGRANTS BEFORE THEY LEAVE AFRICAN WATERS, GIL ARIAS TOLD REUTERS IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW. "IT'S BETTER TO DO IT ON THE AFRICAN COAST, TO PREVENT THE START OF THE IMMIGRANTS' (JOURNEYS), BECAUSE WHEN THEY ARE ARRIVE ON EUROPEAN COASTS IT'S NOT PRACTICAL, THEY ARE ALREADY IN EUROPE AND WE HAVE TO ACCEPT THEM," ARIAS, FROM THE FRONTEX BORDER AGENCY, SAID. "OUR PLAN IS TO PATROL THE AFRICAN COAST, AND THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES HAVE ALREADY GOT AUTHORISATION FROM MAURITANIA, SENEGAL AND CAPE VERDE TO DO THIS IN THEIR TERRITORIAL WATERS," HE SAID FROM FRONTEX'S WARSAW HEADQUARTERS. MAURITANIAN AND SENEGALESE OFFICERS WILL BE ABOARD THE EUROPEAN BOATS BECAUSE WHILE IN AFRICAN WATERS, EU OFFICERS WILL HAVE NO POWER TO SEND PEOPLE BACK TO THEIR COUNTRIES, HE SAID. "THIS DECISION HAS TO BE TAKEN BY THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES." THE MISSION WILL ALSO CONDUCT SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS, ARIAS ADDED. HUNDREDS ARE BELIEVED TO DIE DURING THE RISKY VOYAGE OF MORE THAN 1,000 KM FROM MAURITANIA AND SENEGAL, OFTEN ORGANISED BY PEOPLE-TRAFFICKERS WHO HAVE A LUCRATIVE BUSINESS CARRYING WOULD-BE MIGRANTS SEEKING A BETTER LIFE IN THE WEALTHY EU.
