BRUSSELS - Elite teams of EU border guards will be sent to Europe's southern frontiers at short notice to combat illegal migration, under plans unveiled yesterday.
The move would mean the creation of a permanent "rapid reaction force" of 250-300 experts who could be dispatched within 10 days to deal with sudden movements of population.
It follows an experiment in the Canary Islands, which saw a sudden influx of migrants and where Spanish guards were reinforced by a fact-finding mission from other EU states. Four boats and two aircraft have been promised but have yet to arrive.
The immediate priority is to help stop the EU's southern frontiers, including Malta, Greece and Italy's southern islands, from being overrun by Africans risking their lives as they seek to reach Europe by sea.
This year more than 11,000 illegal immigrants have travelled by boat to the Canary Islands, off the northwest coast of Africa - nearly double the total for all of 2005.
- INDEPENDENT
Elite guards to stem immigrant tide
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