EUROPEAN UNION: Moving in the Direction of Common Immigration Policy

By Tito Drago Reprint | | Print |

Tito Drago

SEVILLE, Spain, Jun 21 2002 (IPS) - The European Union (EU) is to begin moving in the direction of a common immigration policy, although no specific timeframes have yet been set, according to the first agreement reached at the bloc’s summit, which opened Friday in this southern Spanish city.

“The aim is that after Seville, we will all be able to talk about a common European immigration and asylum policy that is global, integrated and balanced,” Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Piqué told a news conference at the end of the first session of the two-day summit.

Although Spain and Britain have been applying pressure in recent weeks to begin implementing a single EU immigration and asylum policy – criticised by some as an attempt to create “fortress Europe” – in the near future, other countries, especially France and Sweden, have put up opposition.

Although there is agreement on the final objective, which is to regulate the entry of immigrant workers and curb the trafficking of people as well as inflows of undocumented immigrants, the unresolved question is the timeframe for implementing a common policy.

Italy’s Romano Prodi, the president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive organ, told IPS Friday that no dates had been agreed. Asked whether it would be more like one, five or 10 years, he responded “we don’t know that, and I don’t think anyone can specify a certain timeframe.”

But the president of the European Parliament, Ireland’s Pat Cox, pointed out that next year, the 15 EU member countries and the nations of North Africa would hold a conference to address the issue of immigration.

The aim of that meeting will be to make progress towards an agreement on joint regulation of migration flows and on the fight against illegal immigration and organised crime – the trafficking of drugs and human beings, said Cox.

Immigration policies should also be linked to development aid in order to reduce the gap between the countries of origin, transit and destination, and to promote the economic and social development of the least developed countries, in regions that are the source of large flows of migrants, he added.

But that link should be a positive one, said Cox, entailing cooperation and partnership accords which reward countries that curb immigration flows, in order to avoid the risk that “the virus of the far-right” would infect immigration policies.

Just hours before the start of the summit Friday, a car bomb staged by the Basque separatist organisation ETA exploded in Seville, injuring six. Analysts say the illegal organisation takes advantage of high-profile international gatherings to grab media attention.

The EU summit, officially labelled the European Council, is also taking place amidst loud criticism from non-governmental organisations grouped in the Social Forum.

The movement is planning a demonstration Saturday in Seville, to be led by a banner reading “no person is illegal”, in protest against that label being applied to immigrants lacking residency permits.

According to the draft European immigration law, immigrants without residency or work permits will be deported from the European bloc, as already occurs in many cases. The measure will also be applicable to visitors whose tourist visas have expired.

But “we must all be very aware of the deeper underlying causes of legal as well as illegal immigration,” said Piqué.

He added that “all EU countries agree on the need to approve, as soon as possible and with precise deadlines, Europe’s new legislation on immigration and asylum.”

He stressed that there was agreement among the 15 member countries on the need to bring national border control policies into line with each other.

Spanish government spokesman Pío Cabanillas, referring to the conditions that the EU would impose on countries that are sources of immigrant flows for receiving aid or boosting trade with the EU, told IPS that “it’s not a question of blackmail.”

Cabanillas added that there must be reciprocity in international relations, and “if a country provides funds earmarked for assistance on a concrete question, like migration, and the recipient fails to apply them appropriately, it is only logical to question whether or not that aid should continue to be provided.”

But, he insisted, “in no case should developing countries be subject to blackmail. The question is creating an integral policy linking development aid, trade and cooperation to combat the mafias that profit from illegal immigration.”

The official EU position on the question of immigration has come in for much criticism. Nelly Maes, president of the non- governmental European Alliance for Freedom, complained Friday that only repressive ideas have emerged in the debate on cracking down on illegal immigration in Europe.

The proposal to reduce or cut off aid to countries that refuse to receive undocumented immigrants who are deported by the EU is unacceptable, she added, arguing that what is needed are positive policies that respect human rights.

King Juan Carlos of Spain, speaking at the official dinner for the visiting leaders Friday night in Seville, referred in positive terms to the phenomenon of immigration, aware of the tension that the question has raised in European society.

“The aspirations of so many men and women from outside of our borders who are seeking freedom, work and a future in Europe also form part of the reality in which we live,” said the king.

“The phenomenon of immigration poses a formidable challenge to our societies, which forces us to make an effort of great magnitude and imagination to guarantee the rights of all, and to achieve the goal of integration, as well as to combat the exploitation and trafficking of human beings,” he added.