Article
Return of illegal immigrants debated as MEPs weigh up "return directive"
Immigration - 17-06-2008 - 06:01
An emotional return for many illegal immigrants
The first attempt to set common standards and procedures for the return of illegal immigrants currently in the European Union will be debated Tuesday. The issue is an emotive one and agreement on this draft directive would be a step towards a unified approach towards immigration. At present there is cooperation but no single policy between EU members. Here we look ahead at the debate on Tuesday and vote on Wednesday and ask after 3 years of negotiation, is an agreement finally in reach?
At the start of June European Union Ministers reached an agreement that is broadly backed by several of parliament's political groups. This slightly amends a report drafted by German Christian Democrat MEP Manfred Weber and approved by the Civil Liberties Committee in September last year.
6 months of detention envisaged
One of the main issues is the amount of time that a person can be held in detention before being sent back to their country of origin, a transit country or another country.
At present it varies from 32 days in France to 20 months in Latvia and unlimited duration in 7 countries. In the text approved by EU Ministers a maximum 6 months maximum period is envisaged, extendable by a further 12 months. Another issue is that a deportee may be banned from re-entering EU territory for a maximum period of 5 years. Included in the text is a voluntary departure period before a removal order was eventually issued.
Where do the political groups stand?
The largest group in the Parliament, the centre-right EPP-ED group supports the current compromise as they believe it is stepping up the EU's effort to fight illegal immigration. For the Liberal ALDE group the compromise is a step in the right direction, whilst the Union of Europe of the Nations (UEN) also supports the compromise on the return directive.
However, for the Greens/EFA and the left-wing GUE/NGL the current text is not acceptable. The Socialist PES group (the second largest in the Parliament) also say they will table amendments to reinforce respect for human dignity in the text.
If approved what happens next?
If the directive is approved then EU members have 24 months to bring it into effect except for the clause on legal aid which is 36 months. If agreement is not found then it will be put to a 2nd reading unless Ministers agree with the changes MEPs have adopted through amendments. However, should it be enacted there is one county - the United Kingdom - that will not be affected as the country has not opted in to this part of community law.
You can read more about this issue through the press releases and background documents found below. You can also read about a visit by a delegation of MEPs form the Civil Liberties Committee to detention centres in Denmark this April - one in a series of visits to see the real conditions for illegal immigrants living in centres around Europe.
(Update 18 June 2008 ) The Parliament on Wednesday backed the compromise negotiated between rapporteur Manfred Weber (EPP-ED, DE) and the Council on the "return directive" , adopting the resolution with 369 votes in favour, 197 against and 106 abstentions. Read more via link to press releases (debate and vote) and listen to extracts from the debate via audio files.
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