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Published on: 9/1/2001
Last Visited: 6/14/2002
Italy's Interior Minister Enzo Bianco specified that one of the major issues discussed this morning was creating a "multilateral accord between police forces" to fight these problems.Italy was chosen last month at a G8 summit of interior and justice ministers to lead the battle against immigrant trafficking and pedophilia.
The G8 tasked Italy with coordinating a new data base on paedophilia and internet pornography, and conducting a feasibility study on creating a European border police force to curb trafficking of illegal immigrants.During today's meeting, attended by ministers from France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Lichtenstein, Bianco stressed that battling immigrant trafficking from China was a top priority.
The minister also said that during the meeting he "outlined Italy's improvement over the past few years" in fighting illegal immigration.According to Bianco, Italy saw illegal entries drop dramatically last year, with the number of clandestine immigrants deported annually increasing sharply, from 7,000 in 1997 to 66,000 last year.He said that Italy's improved performance has made it Europe's leader in fighting clandestine immigration.Bianco also said that decisive actions by Switzerland and Lichtenstein were crucial to stopping money laundering, since "they have often hosted considerable amounts of capital coming from other countries".
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EU proposes minimum standards for asylum seekersThe Associated Press, April 4, 2001
The executive body of the European Union has adopted a proposal setting out minimum standards for the reception ofasylum applicants in member states, the EU reported Wednesday.