VOA常速英语2007年-EU, Mediterranean Officials Meet on Illegal Imm

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
19 November 2007

European Union countries are meeting, for the first time, with their poorer Mediterranean¹ counterparts, to find ways to stem the flow of illegal immigration to Europe. Lisa Bryant has more on the two-day meeting in Portugal.

The meeting in the southern city, Albufeira, brings together European Union countries and Mediterranean counterparts, such as Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Syria and Turkey. Host Portugal has made tackling illegal immigration a priority during its six-month term as EU president, which ends at the end of this year.

That goal will not be easy. More than 100,000 illegal immigrants reach the EU, every year, via the Mediterranean. Many thousands of others perish trying to reach Europe's shores. And, as immigration analyst³ Hugo Brady points out, Europe and the countries from which immigrants originate or through which they transit⁴ see the question of immigration very differently. Those differences will likely be on display at the Albufeira meeting.

"Both sides come to the table with connected sets of concerns," he said. "EU countries want only highly skilled migration²...that will help their economies grow. And, they also want the countries they [illegals] come from or transited⁵ through agree to take them back.

Brady - a fellow at the Center for European Reform in London - says Mediterranean countries want material help from Europe to fight the flow of immigrants - many of them from sub-Saharan Africa. And, they point to issues like European agricultural subsidies⁶ that make it very difficult for their own economies to grow - another factor driving people to immigrate⁷.

Brady notes the EU, itself, is divided over immigration.

"There's a huge internal tension," he said. "So, the pursuit of a common European policy on migration would be the most ambitious goal the EU has yet attempted."

Southern European countries want more EU aid to fight illegal immigration, arguing they are the first stop for many migrants. Meanwhile, northern countries criticize mass naturalization efforts - as in the case of Spain in 2005, when it legalized hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Brady says northern members want to create an EU pact⁸ on immigration, acknowledging that migration policies of any one EU member affect the entire block.

1 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

2 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

5 transited   

通过（transit的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We will be transited through the border without any checks. 我们将穿越边境，不用接受任何检查。
• Flow profile and flow type also transited along pipeline inter thermal stations. 在加热站间管道沿线，流态和流型随着温度的变化也会发生转变。

6 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 immigrate   

v.（从外国）移来，移居入境

参考例句：

• 10,000 people are expected to immigrate in the next two years.接下来的两年里预计有10，000人会移民至此。
• Only few plants can immigrate to the island.只有很少的植物能够移植到这座岛上。

8 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。