EU close to common rules on illegal immigrants

"We want Europe to adopt common standards for the return of illegal immigrants to their country of origin, but the conditions for this return must be implemented with dignity while scrupulously upholding people’s rights...That's why the Socialist Group has tabled amendments," declared Italian MEP Claudio Fava, Socialist spokesperson on Justice and Home Affairs. 

The latest compromise also attracted criticism from the Greens, who called it "unacceptable". "We will not support widescale entry bans, return to countries of transit and lengthy detention periods. These are abuses of human dignity and human rights that we consistently oppose in our member states and do not want to see entrenched at the EU level," they stated. 

But French EPP-ED Patrick Gaubert urged the Parliament not to listen to the "ideological and unreasoned" campaign of NGOs and left MEPs, accusing them of a "dishonest manipulation of the compromise". "Europe has rightly decided to take its responsibilities and refuse to leave these often vulnerable people in a legal vacuum and with no procedural protection," he said.

But the European Association for the Defence of Human Rights insisted that the detention of men, women and children for up to 18 months simply for 'illegally staying' is unacceptable. They are also against associate removal orders with an entry ban of up to five years, which they believe creates a double penalty with no real recourse for lifting the ban. 

They strongly criticised allowing the detention of minors under the guise of family unity, allowing the expulsion of unaccompanied minors, not providing for any evaluation of the risks faced by third-country nationals who return to their country of origin or to a country of transit, where their lives may be endangered or where they may be imprisoned for being illegal migrants. 

The International Federation for Human Rights issued an appeal, asking the MEPs to amend the Return Directive is several respects. They also criticised the exclusion from the protective guarantees of the directive of third-country nationals arrested till seven days after their entry on European territory and the weakening of the possibilities of voluntary return, the only real alternative to forced expulsion. 

Amnesty International called the proposed directive "unacceptable as an EU standard" and appealed on MEPs to reject it. "Detention should only be used in very exceptional cases, always for the shortest possible time and must not be prolonged or indefinite. Standards for returns are needed, but we do not they should be at all costs. The directive must include safeguards that ensure that the return of irregular migrants is carried out in a way that respects their fundamental rights," Amnesty stated.