[Ennahar] More than 1,400 illegal Algerian immigrants were expelled from Spain in 2010, according to figures released by the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a visit to Madrid by one of its bigwigs, reported Wednesday the press in Algiers.According to the Department, the Secretary of State for the Algerian community abroad, Halim Benatallah, has discussed this issue and the granting of visas to Algerians during a one-day visit in Madrid on Monday.
According to the Algerian agency APS, the two countries agreed to initiate discussions for the facilitation of visa.
Mr. Benatallah and Spanish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Antonio Yanez-Barnuevo Garcia wished to expand bilateral cooperation to movement of people and agreed that Algiers and Madrid will engage "soon" for talks on a facilitation visas grant", said the ministry who was quoted by the Algerian APS.
The daily El Watan said that Mr. Benatallah had not addressed in depth "the conditions of detention or illegal residence of Algerians which remain deplorable", according to several surveys by the European Federation of Algerian Associations (FEAA), based in Spain.