Fortress Europe Is Taking Shape

The Italian island of Lampedusa is one of the primary goals for illegal immigrants coming to Europe.

The European Parliament has approved new measures for handling illegal immigrants in the European Union. But does it make the EU more humane? German commentators aren't sure.

by Josh Ward, Der Spiegel, 19/06/2008

After two years of wrangling, the European Parliament approved controversial new rules Wednesday on the handling and deportation of illegal immigrants in the European Union. While some have accused it as "shameful" and "draconian," others praise it for bringing some measure of standardization to the way in which the EU treats its estimated 8 million illegal immigrants.

The bill's main measures include:

* Requiring that illegal immigrants be given 30 days to voluntarily leave before being detained.

* Allowing illegal immigrants to be detained for up to 18 months to decrease the risk of flight during deportation processing.

*Permitting bans of up to five years on re-entry into EU territory on some expelled immigrants.

* Requiring that illegal immigrants be placed in specialized detention centers rather than integrated among convicted criminals, be given access to free legal advice, and that children and families with children only be detained as a last resort.

The measure passed 367-206, with 109 abstentions. Governments have two years to implement the measure's requirements, but Britain, Ireland and Denmark negotiated opt-outs. Before this measure, the EU had no common policy on detaining illegal immigrants, and pre-deportation detention periods ranged from 32 days in France to indefinite periods in seven countries.

Vast numbers of immigrants arrive in Europe every year, and thousands of them die during the journey (more...). For some EU voters, the measure comes as a welcome sign of toughened stance against these immigrants. "Europe has made it clear," said Manfred Weber, the German parliamentarian who steered the bill through Parliament, "that it is not tolerating any form of illegal status."

Among the measure's many critics, leading human rights organization Amnesty International criticized it in a statement, saying it "risks lowering existing standards" and "sets an extremely bad example to other regions in the world."

Intregul articol aici.