Brussels, 09/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - French Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux reiterated, on Monday 8 September, that he wished to see the European Union with a common asylum policy by 2012. “it would be appropriate to achieve application of a common asylum policy in 2010 or at most, by 2012”, said the president-in-office of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council at the opening of the conference on “building a Europe of asylum”, in Paris. According to Mr Hortefeux, it will be up to the Czech and Swedish EU Presidencies in 2009 and perhaps also up to the following presidencies to pursue building this edifice in Europe. Mr Hortefeux's stated ambition once again confirms the intentions of France to have its European pact on immigration and asylum adopted (see other article). One of the aims of the pact is to achieve the establishment of a single asylum procedure by 2012. “Asylum is not and will never be an adjustment variable in immigration policy”, the minister said. “It is the EU's duty to contribute” to application of the Geneva Convention by “offering a better level of protection to the political refugees”, he insisted. Jacques Barrot, European Immigration Commissioner, believes the current phase of harmonisation of the right of asylum within the EU must “aim to ensure higher and more equitable protection throughout the EU, as well as strengthened solidarity between member states” and between the Union and third countries, mainly those taking in a very large number of refugees such as Pakistan (2 million) or Syria (1.5 million). On 17 June, the Commission had presented its last action plan on asylum, an approach that is complementary to that of France (EUROPE 9683). During the conference, Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni explained that his country, which is a Mediterranean outpost, was undergoing extraordinary pressure as there were no united, common European provisions on asylum. Antonio Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, hoped the “European regime would not be built on the lowest common denominator”. He recalled that entry into European territory was strewn with obstacles forcing many people seeking protection to resort to smugglers to get them across the borders. In 2007, the EU took into its territory some 5% of all persons identified by the HCR as needing to be re-settled, i.e. around 4,000 persons, compared to 48,000 established in the United States and 11,000 in Canada. About one and a half million people with protection status currently reside in the EU out of a total 37 million refugees and displaced people worldwide. (B.C./transl.jl)