http://www.iht.com/articles/540250.html
"Proposal by Italy and Germany gains despite opposition. Germany and Italy are pressing ahead with plans for setting up holding centers in North Africa for would-be immigrants to the European Union, despite sharp opposition from other EU countries and the United Nations, politicians and diplomats said Thursday.
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The proposals, which for the moment envisage siting the transit camps in Libya, will be thrashed out next week during a meeting of EU justice and interior ministers in the Netherlands.
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Despite strong reservations from some quarters, the idea is 'gaining ground,' an EU diplomat said.
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'Austria, Britain, Germany and Italy are pushing for it,' said the diplomat, who asked not to be identified. 'Spain has still to make up its mind after supporting it until the Socialist government was elected. France and Sweden are against it.'
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At the headquarters of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, a spokesman said Thursday that the proposals could lead to 'sealing off Europe' to asylum seekers.
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As it happens, the push to set up camps outside Europe has coincided with a drop in asylum applications in EU countries. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees recently reported that average monthly asylum applications had reached their lowest level since 1997, while in Germany the number of applications during the first half of this year, 18,500, represented the lowest monthly rate since 1990. More than 50,000 people applied for asylum in Germany last year.
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In Berlin, the idea of setting up camps has triggered a sharp debate, with Interior Minister Otto Schily struggling to convince even his own governing Social Democrats, and their Green party coalition partners, that the plans are feasible.
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