Mijnheer de Voorzitter, al jarenlang proberen duizenden burgers van de landen van Noord-Afrika op de bekende gevaren af de Middellandse Zee over te steken en zich in ons werelddeel te vestigen. ###>Mr President, for many years now thousands of people from North African countries have been trying, by taking risks that are well known, to cross the Mediterranean and gain a foothold in our continent.