“It's a problem which casts a shadow.. over relations between Libya and France,” Chirac (AFP)

Additional reporting by Hadi Yahmed, IOL Correspondent

TUNIS, December 5 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Terrorism threats and illegal immigration are to dominate the summit agenda of ten leaders of European and North African countries meeting in the Tunisian capital Friday, December 5.

But the meeting is expected to be marred by rows over the host country’s human rights and the French-Libyan relations.

Heads of state from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Malta arte expected to grapple controversial human rights records with leaders from Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania, in the “Five plus Five” summit.

For Europe, the meeting is a chance to show it hasn't forgotten its Muslim neighbors to the south - Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia - as the European Union expands to take in 10 new members, including many former Communist countries to the east, the Guardian reported.

While Europe wants to boost economic cooperation in the region and has already signed free-trade accords with several North African countries, the prime concerns are still cooperation on illegal immigration and terrorism.

At the closest point, Europe and North Africa are separated only by a 7.5-mile stretch of water between Spain and Morocco, an incentive for thousands of migrants making the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean - some in rubber dinghies - seeking a better life in Europe every year.

Moroccan officials argue that security measures are not enough to curb the illegal immigration, with observers hinting that helping improve economic conditions and building stronger ties in the North African country could be much better.

The five European countries also fear that terrorism could sweep across their borders unless enough strict actions are taken from their five North African counterparts.

The truck bombing that hit a Tunisian synagogue last year and the bomb attacks by Islamic fundamentalist groups in Algeria have acted as a warning flag to Euro-Mediterranean countries, said Olivy Roi, a French expert in the affairs of Islamic groups.

The situation in the Arab Maghreb countries is more complicated than in the Middle East, as Islamic groups are further inclined to slip out of hands and stoop to extremism, Roi told IslamOnline.net from Paris.

Algerians live with in almost daily attacks, where some 120,000 people have died in the power struggle for 12 years, the Guardian reported.

In Tunisia, a truck bombing outside a synagogue killed 21 people, mostly German tourists, last year, despite the government’s iron-fisted campaign against terrorists.

Libya also has cracked down on terrorism, part of leader Muammar Gadhafi’s attempts to get in the good graces of the international community, the British paper said.

 Friendly Talks

The summit also offers North African leaders an opportunity for friendly talks among themselves.

A conflict over Western Sahara, a disputed phosphate-rich territory on Africa's Atlantic Coast, has soured ties for nearly three decades between Morocco and Algeria and made any real cooperation in the region difficult, the Guardian said.