Brussels, 18/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 16 June, European Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot considered as illegal the Italian plan to make penalties stricter for offences committed by European nationals in an unlawful situation. “It is not possible to step up sanctions because the person concerned is not in a lawful situation. That is counter to European law”, said Mr Barrot during his hearing at the European Parliament (EUROPE 9684). “There cannot be discrimination due to nationality”, he reiterated during a statement to the press after his hearing. “I would point out that I am referring to European citizens”, he stressed. “Personally, I think this poses a problem. Theoretically, one cannot make a penalty harsher”, he said. The new Italian government under Silvio Berlusconi has adopted a series of measures to combat illegal immigration, including the creation of an illegal immigration offence liable to six months to four years' imprisonment. It has also suggested that penalties be increased by one third if the offence is committed by a foreigner in an irregular situation. All these measures have still to be approved by the Italian parliament. Answering questions again, on Tuesday 17 June during a press conference, Mr Barrot pointed out that, in Europe, unlawful immigration ran counter to the law and that member states impose different penalties for this offence in accordance with their national legislations. “It is out of the question to harmonise criminal law on this”, he said. In his view, one should distinguish between two cases. Either it is the case of a European national in an illegal situation, in which case he/she should be treated like a European citizen and his penalty cannot be increased, or it is the case of an illegal immigrant from a third country and, in this case, the courts logically punish that person for the offence committed and for the offence of illegal immigration. “This would be a double penalty, which is perfectly possible”, he concluded. (B.C./transl.jl)