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France insisted on Monday that it had not broken European law by blocking trains carrying Tunisian migrants from Italy, as the Alpine neighbors' row intensified. Europe has faced waves of North African migrants in recent months following unrest in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Italy has begun handing out temporary residence cards to around 20,000 newly arrived Tunisians, but Paris fears this reprieve will see them flow across the unwatched border and settle in France. On Sunday, French officials blocked all trains from Italy for the day – drawing a sharp response from Rome, which alleged that the move contravened EU law. Interior Minister Claude Gueant insisted Paris had respected "in letter and spirit" the Schengen Accords, the treaty under which core EU members agree to allow residents to travel without passports within their borders. In Italy, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told La Repubblica, "The problem of immigration is becoming a bit like the nuclear issue. Everyone wants to say something about it but no one wants it in their backyard." French President Nicolas Sarkozy will seek re-election next year and is worried that his anemic poll figures may prompt a major challenge from the far-right, anti-immigrant National Front. Last year, France found itself criticized by the UN and fellow EU members after rounding up migrant Roma Gypsies and sending them back to Romania and Bulgaria. Now, Paris is seeking to halt Tunisians coming over from Italy, and warns that they will check whether all refugees have passports and sufficient means to support themselves. Italy argues that the migrants' six-month Italian "humanitarian residency permits" should allow them to visit France. AFP |
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