The shores of southern Europe are facing the “greatest migratory emergency in their history” and Europe needs to provide urgent financial support for the authorities facing the greatest strain along the EU’s southern flank, a report published by the Committee of Regions said this week.

The recommendation, published by Madrid’s director general for State cooperation and European affairs Laura de Esteban Martin, was backed strongly by the members of the EU consultative body in a plenary session in Brussels.

The report calls for a specific financial instrument for areas with the highest immigration levels including Malta, Lampedusa, the Canary Islands and the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in north Africa.

In the meantime, a European Commission spokesman said this week that EU countries have so far failed to provide the resources necessary to fully equip Frontex, Europe’s border agency, to meet what is expected to be a heavy flow of migrants into southern Europe this summer.

So far, 19 EU States have offered a total of eight aircraft, 13 helicopters some 50 boats and technical equipment for border surveillance – most of which have been offered by Finland, Spain, Italy and Germany.

“We received offers ... for which we are very grateful, it is finally a good signal of co-operation, but we are not there yet,” Friso Roscam Abbing, EU spokesperson for immigration told the press this week.

“If we had twice as much, it would be closer to what we need,” he added, stressing that the EU needs to be ready for the coming “migration season” when the weather improves. He added that new joint border control operations would be launched in the Mediterranean in the “coming weeks”.

While other EU countries are expected to announce possible donations in the coming weeks, EU justice and home affairs commissioner Franco Frattini appealed to EU governments to come to the aid of Malta, Italy, Spain and Greece, as they brace themselves for an expected increased flow of migrants this summer.

Frontex, based in Warsaw, was set up in 2005 to coordinate border operations and to train border security personnel across the EU. The agency, however, is not equipped with its own border guards, boats or helicopters and last year clamoured to get together a mere handful boats and aircraft with which to patrol southern European waters.

Frattini had warned last month that permanent patrols of the Mediterranean would be needed, as well as a rapid reaction team of immigration experts by May for when sea conditions begin to improve.

“The local authorities on the receiving end of this influx do not have the resources to provide adequate humanitarian care,” Mrs de Esteban Martin said in her report. “Compounding this extremely serious problem is the lack of a common European migration policy.”

Her report, a response to a package of proposals by the European Commission, stresses that a common policy is a necessity if member States are to achieve closer coordination between themselves and non-EU countries.

“The key to preventing uncontrolled migration is full development cooperation, by implementing projects that generate employment; setting up an economic and trade forums, university networks and micro-credit funds for migrants; implementing measures to help migrants cooperate in their own countries’ development; and installing infrastructures, particularly to provide drinking water (42 per cent of Africa’s inhabitants have no access to drinking water), electricity (only 20 per cent have regular access to the power grid), health centres and schools,” she added.