Brussels, 07/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 5 February, the French prime minister, François Fillon, indicated that an agreement between Europeans was “probable” on the “European immigration and asylum pact” that France would be proposing to its partners during its presidency of the EU in the second half of the year.
During the hearing of the French parliament's European affairs delegation on 23 January, the minister for immigration, integration and national identity, Brice Hortefeux, had earlier set out the measures figuring in the pact. They are based on five main principles: external border protection - Hortefeux said they needed a European border police. Completing the visa biometric system and strengthening external border controls through an increased role for the Frontex agency (European External Border Agency). Organising legal immigration around quota system - “but there is no question of telling each country what it should do. Each country has to be able to decide on its needs and capacity to receive immigrants”. According to the minister, they should immediately stop massive, and across the board, regularisations of illegal immigrants. It is necessary to organise professional immigration, mainly through the draft directive of October 2007 (European “blue card”). Collective organisation for returning foreigners - the minister declared that “all the member states are confronting the problem of return flights when it is preferable to organise joint flights, particularly under Frontex jurisdiction”. Progress is also needed with the signing of countries of origin and re-admission for illegal immigrants so that common rules are implemented in this field. Member states will have to implement a common policy against those employing or sheltering illegal immigrants. Common asylum policy - there will be a ministerial conference in Paris next September on the common asylum policy. There are sharp disparities between member states in their definition of asylum rights. Harmonisation will surely be difficult because of different traditions. Hortefeux said that “asylum policy will never be a variable in immigration policy”. Promotion of co-development and development aid - Euro-African aid ministerial conference on immigration and development on 20-21 October in Paris.
In conclusion, the minister indicated that strategically, France should not simply rely on support from the four member states - Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany - which account (with France) for 80% of immigration, support was also required from “medium” countries such as Austria, Portugal and Greece, or “small” countries like Malta, directly affected by illegal immigration. Will such a pact be binding? Mr Hortefeux said that there would be no transfer of sovereignty and every member state would conserve their responsibility for setting immigrants' entry conditions onto their territory. However, he did say he favoured a common border control policy at the entry of the Union's external borders. This idea would be submitted to the next European Council. He stressed that the European immigration pact would be a political pact. (B.C.)