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6/7/07

Reuters Africa: Immigration will transform Europe- says Spanish minister

For the complete report from Reuters Africa click on this link

Immigration will transform Europe-Spanish minister

A European Commission proposal for stricter controls on illegal workers and efforts to ensure migrants' children are well educated should help the continent digest the large influx of workers, Spanish Immigration Secretary Consuelo Rumi said. Spain, which had very few immigrants until the early 1990s, is now home to about four million foreigners, 10 percent of its population. Some of these are retirees from places like Germany and Britain, but most have come from Morocco, Latin America and Eastern Europe to seek work in a booming economy.

"If you enter illegally you leave the country in the shortest possible time," Rumi said of Spain's 'revolving door' repatriations. This year, the Spanish government expects to grant visas to about 200,000 people from outside the European Union who have been awarded working contracts, Rumi said.

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