Germany, Italy Push Ahead on Asylum Centers | Deutsche Welle, 13 Oct 2004

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1360015,00.html
"Despite a lukewarm reception in the EU, Berlin and Rome intend to press ahead with a controversial plan to create holding asylum camps for European-bound migrants in North Africa as a means to combat illegal immigration.

Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu has described a proposal to set up North African transit camps for illegal immigrants as a humane solution in the fight against human trafficking. Italy, which has been swamped by a recent wave of would-be asylum seekers landing on its southern shores, has joined forces with Germany to hammer out a plan for combating what the two governments see as a major European issue."