Posted on 06/21/2002 7:35:31 PM PDT by knighthawk
SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) - European Union leaders have endorsed a crackdown on illegal immigrants, but have defeated attempts to bring in sanctions against countries which fail to stop their citizens slipping into the 15-nation bloc.
At a high-security summit marred by two car bombs in Spanish coastal tourist resorts, the leaders on Friday failed to break a deadlock holding up a defence deal, but stuck to a timetable for expanding the 15-nation bloc.
And EU president Spain dangled a carrot under the nose of Turkey, a perennial EU candidate, by raising the possibility of setting a timetable for it to start accession negotiations if Ankara continued political and economic reform.
Anxious to crown its six-month EU presidency that ends this month with a deal on immigration, Spain retreated from earlier proposals for the EU to threaten economic sanctions against countries that do not cooperate in controlling migrant flows.
To show they are getting tough on the estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants entering the bloc each year, the leaders of the EU's 370 million people approved an action plan to tighten border controls, set deadlines for adopting a common asylum policy and expel rejected immigrants more quickly.
BOMB BLASTS
Three British tourists were among six people hurt by a bomb outside a seaside resort hotel about 120 miles from the heart of the southern city of Seville. A second explosion rocked the glitzy coastal town of Marbella, but there were no injuries.
The first bomb followed a telephoned warning in the name of the armed Basque separatist group ETA, which has killed more than 800 people in its 30-year campaign to carve a Basque homeland out of north-western Spain and southern France.
The bombs appeared to be aimed at grabbing attention in Seville, where police were out in force to prevent attacks.
ENLARGEMENT ON TRACK
Despite the distraction of two World Cup soccer quarter-finals, EU leaders at Seville's gold-domed conference centre took further steps to smooth the way for bringing in up to 10 new members.
They reassured Ireland that a landmark treaty crucial to EU enlargement will not imperil its military neutrality, in the hope that Irish voters will ratify it in a re-run referendum in October or November this year.
Spain's draft proposals for a common EU approach to third countries spoke only of possible political measures towards states that do not comply in the clampdown on illegal migrants.
"If a country systematically infringes agreements...that is, breaks the rules of play, then the EU reserves the right to see whether there should be consequences for such behaviour," Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique told a news conference.
The draft, seen by Reuters, said any measures against persistent offenders must not harm development aid and must be approved unanimously by the 15 member governments.
France and Sweden had argued that cutting off aid would be counter-productive because it would merely exacerbate poverty and the desire of youngsters to seek a better life in Europe.
"(Linking aid) is never going to work. It's a stupid proposal," said Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson.
More than 400 illegal immigrant farm workers, who have occupied buildings at a Seville university for the last 11 days to demand residency rights, began a 48-hour hunger strike.
IRISH NEUTRALITY
The leaders sought Greek and Turkish acceptance of a deal to ensure EU access to NATO military planning for future crisis management operations -- crucial if the bloc is to become a serious player in international security.
They also discussed reforms to make increasingly unwieldy EU summits more efficient but were spared an awkward dispute with France over reining in its budget deficit after finance ministers agreed on a fudge in Madrid.
At a late-night session, the ministers wrung from Paris a promise that tax cuts recently promised by President Jacques Chirac would be matched by equivalent spending cuts.
The deal won praise from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who said it would make it easier for Italy to carry out costly structural economic reforms.
But Finance Minister Francis Mer said the commitment to a balanced budget in 2004 was conditional on achieving at least three percent growth next year, double the rate France is forecast to have this year.
Financial markets, which once punished any European country that ran high inflation or deficits by charging a risk premium on its bonds, seemed largely indifferent to the issue. The euro traded at above $0.97 on Friday, its highest in two years.
The leaders began Friday's summit two hours later than usual to allow more time to reach the conference centre after a Spanish general strike on Thursday caused transport chaos.
Around a dozen, mostly male, anti-globalisation protesters stripped off outside a Bank of Spain building in Seville in a symbolic demonstration at what they said was the exploitation of poorer nations in the south by rich nations of the north.
< /sarcasm>
The usual intellectual leading lights weigh in.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.