Treading Immigration's Fine Line in Europe

European Union leaders found a letter from Amnesty International in their mailboxes this week.

The international human rights organization wrote to say it was concerned that EU governments could try and outdo populist right-wing parties in their effort to stem illegal immigration into Europe. The human rights organization warned EU leaders not to legitimize the arguments of the far right.

The more than 1 million legal and illegal immigrants streaming the EU's borders has taken on a new urgency in the European Union with the rising popularity of anti-immigrant, right-wing parties in recent national elections.

Populist politicians have won large percentages of the votes in France, the Netherlands and Denmark, where they are now influencing the political agenda. Their focus on tightening immigration policies in their countries has added to the political momentum of the issue across Europe and leaders plan to make it the top issue at an EU summit next week in Seville, Spain.

"If democratic politicians fail to tackle the difficult issues posed by immigration and asylum in the new global environment, people will increasingly embrace extremist solutions," Britain's Home Secretary David Blunkett said in a letter to his EU colleagues.

Using economic clout as a threat

But the newest EU proposal to stem immigration, which might involve cutting aid to third countries that don't fight illegal immigration into EU countries, has run into heavy criticism.

The proposal is part of a package EU interior ministers agreed upon on Thursday in advance of the Seville meeting on June 21-22.

Spain's Mariano Rajoy, one of the architects of the draft paper, said countries of transit and origin for illegal immigrants need to do more to clamp down on document fraud and human trafficking, reinforce their border controls and launch campaigns against illegal immigration.

If they don't, some EU leaders have proposed holding them responsible for the consequences.

Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair (photo) had suggested that the EU should use its "economic and financial clout" to put pressure on countries that are unwilling to help the EU.

Preventing a Fortress Europe

But EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Antonio Vitorino is also opposed to the idea of sanctions. France, Sweden and several smaller EU states argue that such a move would be self-defeating.

Cutting developmental aid for third world countries would not stem the flow of people wanting to leave, they argue. Rather than financial punishment, they would like to see some incentives in place for developing countries to take back migrants and improve their own border controls.

In a popular sentiment among the opponents, Roman Prodi, the president of the EU's policy-shaping body, the European Commission, warned against turning Europe into a fortress closed to migrants.

Sweden's Migration and Development Aid minister Jan Karlsson warned interior ministers that "it should not be xenophobes who set the EU's agenda."

But Germany's Interior Minister Otto Schily (photo) doesn't see that danger:

"The EU doesn't want to build a Fortress Europe, but remains open for legal migration," he said. "The fewer illegal immigrants we get, the more possibility we will have for legal immigration."