Migration issues have arrived at the top of the European Union’s policy agenda. The high numbers of desperate boat people from Africa landing on the shores of Southern Europe have shocked European societies. In the fi rst ten months of 2006, over 27,000 migrants landed on the shores of the Canary Islands and almost 17,000 on the island of Lampedusa. The increasing arrivals of people from different less developed areas seeking shelter and work have put particular emphasis on the fact that migration is a transnational phenomenon which calls for transnational answers. Consequently enough, the EU considers migration to be one of the most visible challenges of globalisation.
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