Cannes, France- Europe should take complete control of migration into and out of the continent, working with the rest of the world to end illegal migration and manage legal flows, EU justice ministers said Monday at the opening of an informal meeting.
"We are not turning Europe into a bunker, but we are steering migrant flows in the world," German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said ahead of talks with EU counterparts in the southern French beach resort of Cannes.
"We cannot leave all these questions of migrant flows in disorder, we have to organize (them)," EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot said.
The informal meeting, a regular feature of EU politics, is aimed at getting ministers to agree on the broad outline of policies, so that they will find it easier to agree the technical details at future, formal meetings.
Monday's talks are set to be dominated by a proposal from the French government, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, to create a "pact on immigration and asylum" between the EU's 27 member states.
The pact, which would not be legally binding but would carry political weight, asks EU member states to strengthen the fight against illegal immigration, to crack down on the employers of illegal migrants and to live up to their responsibility to expel illegal residents from their territory.
"Mastering migrant flows. Making integration easier. Promoting development in solidarity with countries of origin. Promoting national identity," a pamphlet published for the meeting said.
At the same time, it urges them to put in place targeted immigration policies which would attract highly-qualified foreigners, in particular, into Europe.
And it calls on the EU to work closely with countries of origin and transit, supporting development on their territories and making it easier for immigrants to send money home as a way of making it more attractive for future potential migrants to stay at home. (dpa)