Herman
18th June 2008, 13:38
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTM0NTgyNTA5Ng==
STRASBOURG: A law that allows illegal immigrants to be detained for up to 18 months faced a knife-edge vote in the European Parliament today due to left-wing opposition and doubts among other lawmakers, EU officials said. After nearly three years of debate, European Union interior ministers this month agreed the measure, which allows detention without trial and means illegal immigrants would also face a re-entry ban of up to 5 years. The measure, which has been widely criticized by human rights groups, now
needs to be agreed by the European Parliament.
Conservatives and liberals supported it in a debate on Tuesday, giving the text a theoretical majority, while socialists, greens and a communist-led group wanted to reduce the detention length. "There is a majority on paper, but there can always be surprises, no one can predict the outcome," one European Parliament official said. "It's going to be a knife-edge vote," another official said after the debate, adding that there would be splits within political groups. "This directive is a disgrace, it's an ins
ult to civilization in Europe," said Italian left-winger Giusto Catania, saying illegal migrants should not be detained for 18 months without having committed a crime. "We are building a Europe which is shutting down on itself," said fellow socialist Martine Roure, urging the bloc to take steps to facilitate legal migration.
The 18-month limit is higher than the maximum detention in two-thirds of the 27 EU states. Although EU states can keep a lower limit if they want, rights groups and opponents say it will encourage authorities to lock up more illegal migrants. The EU executive estimates there are up to 8 million illegal migrants in the bloc. More than 200,000 were arrested in the first half of 2007 but less than 90,000 expelled. EU Commissioner Jacques Barrot said yesterday the law was needed to make the bloc's migration po
licies credible, a stance backed by conservative and liberal lawmakers. "It's a decisive step towards a necessary common policy on immigration, an essential legal instrument to safeguard fundamental rights for immigrants," said Spanish conservative Agustin Diaz de Mera Garcia. "It raises standards in some member states," British liberal Sarah Ludford said, calling it an imperfect but necessary law.
In another development, the European Commission outlined new plans yesterday to help meet the EU's immigration needs while keeping out illegal immigrants, including help for poor nations who were losing their workers. The shake-up was designed to provide clear and fair rules for would-be immigrants, said EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot, who launched the package. They included matching immigrants' skills with the needs of the 27 EU countries and helping those who did get in to integrate. They would e
stablish partnerships with non-EU countries from where immigrants are leaving, or transit countries such Libya, helping to develop better education systems and training to prevent skilled workers leaving. Security would be improved by a better visa policy, more efficient border management and a "zero tolerance" policy towards human trafficking. "I really believe that we have here some principles that can clarify and inspire very balanced policies," Barrot told reporters at the European Parliament.
STRASBOURG: A law that allows illegal immigrants to be detained for up to 18 months faced a knife-edge vote in the European Parliament today due to left-wing opposition and doubts among other lawmakers, EU officials said. After nearly three years of debate, European Union interior ministers this month agreed the measure, which allows detention without trial and means illegal immigrants would also face a re-entry ban of up to 5 years. The measure, which has been widely criticized by human rights groups, now
needs to be agreed by the European Parliament.
Conservatives and liberals supported it in a debate on Tuesday, giving the text a theoretical majority, while socialists, greens and a communist-led group wanted to reduce the detention length. "There is a majority on paper, but there can always be surprises, no one can predict the outcome," one European Parliament official said. "It's going to be a knife-edge vote," another official said after the debate, adding that there would be splits within political groups. "This directive is a disgrace, it's an ins
ult to civilization in Europe," said Italian left-winger Giusto Catania, saying illegal migrants should not be detained for 18 months without having committed a crime. "We are building a Europe which is shutting down on itself," said fellow socialist Martine Roure, urging the bloc to take steps to facilitate legal migration.
The 18-month limit is higher than the maximum detention in two-thirds of the 27 EU states. Although EU states can keep a lower limit if they want, rights groups and opponents say it will encourage authorities to lock up more illegal migrants. The EU executive estimates there are up to 8 million illegal migrants in the bloc. More than 200,000 were arrested in the first half of 2007 but less than 90,000 expelled. EU Commissioner Jacques Barrot said yesterday the law was needed to make the bloc's migration po
licies credible, a stance backed by conservative and liberal lawmakers. "It's a decisive step towards a necessary common policy on immigration, an essential legal instrument to safeguard fundamental rights for immigrants," said Spanish conservative Agustin Diaz de Mera Garcia. "It raises standards in some member states," British liberal Sarah Ludford said, calling it an imperfect but necessary law.
In another development, the European Commission outlined new plans yesterday to help meet the EU's immigration needs while keeping out illegal immigrants, including help for poor nations who were losing their workers. The shake-up was designed to provide clear and fair rules for would-be immigrants, said EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot, who launched the package. They included matching immigrants' skills with the needs of the 27 EU countries and helping those who did get in to integrate. They would e
stablish partnerships with non-EU countries from where immigrants are leaving, or transit countries such Libya, helping to develop better education systems and training to prevent skilled workers leaving. Security would be improved by a better visa policy, more efficient border management and a "zero tolerance" policy towards human trafficking. "I really believe that we have here some principles that can clarify and inspire very balanced policies," Barrot told reporters at the European Parliament.