French Minister for Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Development Partnership of France, Brice Hortefeur, yesterday underlined his government’s commitment to make immigration a top priority when France assumes the presidency of the EU in July.
Hortefeur also confirmed that Sarkozy’s government is forging ahead with its plans to build a nuclear reactor in Libya – the country of origin for most of the boat people apprehended in the central Mediterranean – raising questions over France’s ability to broker any meaningful agreement with the Ghaddafi regime.
Emerging from a discussion with Justice Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici and AFM Commander in Chief Carmelo Vassallo at the Auberge D’Aragon yesterday, Hortefeur explained that the French presidency would push for greater awareness of immigration among all 27 EU member states.
“We completely agree that migration should be given maximum priority,” Hortefeux told the press after the meeting, which lasted 45 minutes. “It is a question which concerns all the countries in Europe.”
Earlier he met Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg.
The French Immigration minister hinted that Malta’s proposal of “responsibility sharing” would be given due consideration by the French presidency, but stopped short of actual endorsement.
Hortefeur also hinted at an overhaul of the operations of Frontex, the European border control agency, which has to date failed to commence as scheduled precisely because of logistical problems involving French and German co-operation in the project. “Frontex will come into force shortly, and will be operating in two separate directions: a terrestrial front, aimed at controlling land borders, as well as a maritime/aerial front,” Hortefeux said.
The French minister also confirmed his government’s commitment to furnish Libya with a nuclear power plant, although he declined to comment about whether this multi-million euro deal – signed between Sarkozy and Gaddafi in July 2007 – would have any influence on France’s immigration negotiations with Libya.
“It is not my competence to discuss this matter, but I can confirm that France has an agreement with Libya for the provision of a nuclear reactor for civil purposes,” he said in reply to a MaltaToday question. “I must stress that the purpose of the reactor is civil, and not military.”
The controversy surrounding the proposed Libyan nuclear reactor, ostensibly to be used for desalination purposes, goes back to July 2007. One day after the release of 16 Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death for allegedly causing an HIV epidemic at the El-Fatih Children’s Hospital in Benghazi, newly elected French premier Nicolas Sarkozy signed a contract with Libyan leader Muammar Al-Ghaddafi for the construction of a nuclear reactor.
French anti-nuclear group Sortir du Nucleaire accused Sarkozy of handing over nuclear technology to Libya in exchange for the nurses. “Civilian and military nuclear are inseparable,” the group said. “Delivering ‘civilian’ nuclear energy to Libya would amount to helping the country, sooner or later, to acquire nuclear weapons.”
Libya made a public commitment to disarm its WMD arsenal in 2003.