Spain opened an amnesty for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants today, rejecting criticism that its new policy would make the country a stronger magnet for migrants.
The prime minister Mr Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government says the amnesty - under which qualifying illegals will get residency and work permits - will allow it to manage migration better, cracking down harder on those already living in Spain illegally as well as on those trying to get in.
An estimated 800,000 migrants live in the country illegally, but there is no way to know how many will benefit from the amnesty.
But the move appears to run counter to clampdowns in the rest of Europe, and the government's assurances that its policy is the right one have done nothing to quell the controversy.
In Britain, the government is preparing to introduce tighter controls on asylum seekers and better filters on unskilled workers, aimed at calming public fears about immigration and its effects on security and public services.
In an interview with newspaper El Pais, Spanish Immigration Secretary Ms Consuelo Rumi was asked about criticism from other EU countries about the possibility that the new policy could draw more illegal foreigners to Spain's shores. "Those countries have drawn attention to the fact that the EU has no common framework (on matters of immigration) ... Our government has taken up and backs, first and foremost, a common immigration policy," she said.