Bombs, protests at end of EU talks

Anti-globalisation protesters took to the streets at the end of the summit

SEVILLE, Spain -- A wave of car bomb attacks and a protest by anti-globalisation demonstrators have marked the close of a summit of EU leaders in Spain.

Spanish police on Sunday are investigating five bombings, of which Basque separatist group ETA has taken responsibility for two.

Nine people have been wounded, one seriously -- a British man who was in critical condition after a bombing Friday in Fuengirola.

ETA has been criticized for targeting tourist resorts -- three of the five car bombs that went off on Friday and Saturday were in southern Spain's Costa del Sol region. (Full story)

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has condemned the attacks, saying they were aimed at diverting attention from the EU meetings. (Summit agreement)

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Tens of thousands of anti-globalisation demonstrators took to the streets of Seville late on Saturday as EU leaders laid down their plan to tackle illegal immigration.

The two-day summit sanctioned tighter border controls in an attempt to keep out the estimated 500,000 annual illegal immigrants.

But the leaders of the 15-nation bloc had to compete for media attention during the summit with the bombing and the anti-globalisation march.

Authorities estimated 20,000 people gathered for the peaceful march, but organisers put the figure at closer to 100,000. Police made only one arrest.

A group of 400 asylum-seekers went on a hunger strike during the two-day summit. (Full Story)

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who was hosting the summit, has promised to catch those responsible for the five bombs.

EU leaders were determined to tackle the thorny issue of illegal immigration, first considered at a meeting in Finland three years ago, but they had failed to take any further action until the rise of far-right movements across Europe this year.

They agreed at the Seville summit to introduce joint border operations and to press other countries to co-operate in tackling the problem.

A timetable of 2002 and 2003 was also set to agree on creating a common asylum policy.

Britain and Spain had wanted the bloc to withhold aid from outside countries that fail to fight people smugglers and take back their rejected nationals, but backed down after opposition from France, Sweden and some other states.

The text from the Seville summit urges the EU to actively seek co-operation from third countries to stem illegal migration -- but stops short from calling for sanctions against nations that fail to comply.

Patrols of borders will be boosted by joint training and shared intelligence.

The EU will also accelerate plans to tighten visa regulations, use common rules for handling asylum requests, quicken deportation procedures and toughen sentences on people smugglers.

Human-rights groups and some European politicians have accused the EU leaders of pandering to the far right, which made big recent election gains in France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Italy.

But some welcomed the softer tone on third world countries.

Dick Oosting, Director of Amnesty International's EU office, told The Associated Press: "The threat of sanctions highlighted how distorted the EU's policies were becoming.

"The war against 'illegal immigration' had clearly become overheated."

Enlargement

The EU leaders also reconfirmed their plan to wrap up membership negotiations with 10 candidate nations by the end of the year.

Membership candidates, who also attended the summit, said they were confident that their bids to join in 2004 are well on track despite internal EU rows over enlargement costs, Reuters reported.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had cast doubt on a summit pledge to forge a key deal in November on farm subsidies for newcomers.

The contentious $77.6 billion annual aid to farmers and prospective members was put on hold.

CNN's Robin Oakley said at the end of the summit on Saturday that the issue was "such a hot potato that it was dropped."

"The achievements of the summit were limited," he added.

But Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller was quoted by Reuters as saying: "I am not afraid of any delays in enlargement."

The 10 hopefuls include the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia as well as Cyprus and Malta.

The summit marked the end of Spain's six-month tenure as president of the union. Denmark will now take over the EU presidency.

The start of the summit in Seville was delayed for two hours on Friday following a general strike in Spain the previous day which held up transport plans. (Full story)