Eurocrats to control Britain's borders

BRITAIN will be forced to take in an extra 30,000 ref­ugees a year as part of an EU bid to seize control of our immigration system, the Daily Express can reveal.

Britain will be forced to take in an extra 30 000 refugees a year Britain will be forced to take in an extra 30,000 refugees a year

Brussels chief Jose Manuel Barroso intends to appoint a commissioner in charge of a new Europe-wide immigration bureau if he is re-elected as European Commission president next week.

The new EU department would have wide-ranging powers that would supersede national law, similar to the Commission’s role in trade, transport, agriculture and fisheries.

The plan was condemned last night as sealing Britain’s fate as a sovereign nation. UKIP leader

Nigel Farage said: “This is outrageous. This would give migrants the green light to head for Europe.

“The proposal to create an EU Immigration Commissioner shows that Brussels is serious in taking over the last remnants of our immigration policy.

“Decisions on who can and cannot enter the country, who can and cannot live here, are the essence of an independent country. This shows we aren’t.”

Some 238,365 refugees asked for ­asylum in the EU in 2008, latest figures reveal. However, an estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants come to Europe every year, according to Brussels officials, with up to eight million already living and working illegally in the EU.

The Brussels plan would mean Britain would have to accept an extra 30,940 refugees on top of 20,000 asylum applications processed by the Home Office every year. More than 100,0000 migrant workers also come to the UK legally.

President Barroso revealed his plan to Maltese MEPs this week as he canvassed support for re-election at a vote in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The proposals would force Britain to accept tens of thousands of migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East as EU states would be compelled to share the burden of illegal immigration faced by Malta, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Spain.

The UK would be obliged to take in up to 13 per cent of all EU refugees as part of a common European asylum policy to which we are already committed.

The percentage share, which is worked out by population, would see Britain having to accept 30,940, more than any other country apart from Germany.

The EU has already begun a controversial re-settlement programme of asylum seekers from Malta with the first batch of African migrants accepted by France earlier this year.

Brussels is now calling on the UK and all other EU members to take in the thousands of migrants held in detention centres on the Italian island of Lampedusa, on the Greek islands and mainland, and in the Canary Islands.

European Commission vice-president Jacques Barrot’s spokesman told the Daily Express: “The UK is part of the EU and its common asylum policy. A determined European response based on firmness, solidarity and shared responsibility is essential, in line with the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum. We are bringing practical solutions to put real solidarity in place, action not just words. The French example sets the tone.

“In view of the present humanitarian emergency, concrete measures need to be quickly put in place and implemented.”

President Barroso wants to widen Europe’s role in combating illegal immigration and share the burden of asylum seekers who are heading to Europe from North Africa.

States on Europe’s southern border have been the destination of growing numbers of migrants desperate to start a new life in Europe. Every week hundreds set off in overcrowded boats.

Malta, whose population is just over 400,000, claims it has become overwhelmed by illegal immigrants since it joined the EU in 2004 and has appealed to Brussels for help. Greece, Italy and Spain have also asked for greater assistance in combating illegal immigration.

Last night an EU Commission spokeswoman said President Barroso would reveal details of his plan “in due course”. But the Home Office said it would not agree to the proposals.

A spokesman said: “The UK will not agree to anything that weakens our control over our ­borders and the EU has no power to force us to take extra asylum seekers or determine our immigration policy.

“We fully recognise the acute pressures faced by member states at the Mediterranean border, but we do not believe that internal EU relocation is the right solution – it has the potential simply to provide further incentives for illegal migrants and those who facilitate their movement.

“Instead we need to work closely with third countries to tackle ­illegal flows before they reach our shores.”

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