G-6 agree crackdown on human traffickers
26 October 2006
Expatica News
STRATFORD-UPON-AVON Interior ministers from Spain and five of Europe's biggest countries agreed on Thursday new measures to crackdown on terrorism, illegal immigration and tax fraud.
The ministers want to stop illegal flows of both funds and people, especially where such movements create opportunities for terrorists to act or raise money.
Countering “carrousel fraud” a scam in which sales tax is collected and not paid to states, was one of the main items on the agenda at the meeting of ministers from Spain, Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Poland.
The two-day meeting in Britain was an informal gathering designed for discussion but it may lead to formal proposals to all European Union member states.
The six countries make up about three-quarters of the EU's population.
On immigration, ministers agreed to consider developing a common approach to false claims for asylum and illegal immigration.
Spain and Italy have been seeking help from their partners to keep out Africans trying to enter the European Union illegally.
Migrants typically take fishing boats from west or north Africa and land in Spain's Canary Islands or the Sicilian islands at the southern tip of Italy.
The ministers also discussed ways to share more intelligence on suspected terrorists and are studying ways to hinder terrorists' use of the Internet.
[Copyright EFE with Expatica]
Subject: Spanish news
