Brussels, 09/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - Only a few days away from its adoption by heads of state and government, planned on 15-16 October, the European immigration and asylum pact is still creating a polemic, as proved by the debate on Tuesday 7 October in Brussels organised by the European Policy Center (EPC). The French Presidency considers the additional value of the pact as incontestable, even if negotiations between the EU27 led to a watered down text. Jean-Christophe Peaucelle, the head of the European affairs service at the French department of immigration, integration, national identity and development solidarity, pointed out that member states will be obliged to reserve a place in the European agenda on immigration and asylum questions, Peaucelle explained that “the aim is not to create new rules. It is a political commitment by the European Council to its own representatives and public opinion in third countries”. He also pointed out that the pact establishes a genuine roadmap for adopting the future Stockholm programme for the space for Justice, Freedom and Security. Kris Pollet, in charge of legal and home affairs issues at the Brussels office of Amnesty International, affirmed, however, that they should not “overestimate” the pact and said that he was unconvinced by its content, which reflected more a narrow member state vision rather than the European dimension in European migration policy. He said that this also applied to family reunification policy, which is not clearly indicated in the text, whereas it is this that evokes the conditions for the integration of migrants (language courses, resources) applied by member states and often perceived as discriminatory (EUROPË 9756). Mr Pollet also said that the pact creates an obligation for certain migrants to leave European territory. Pollet believes that such a commitment is “dangerous” because the Union still does not have a common European asylum system to counterbalance this security-oriented vision. He averred that “certain illegal immigrants simply find it impossible to return home”. To find out more about the exact content of the pact see EUROPE 9748. There is also a critical study on the pact written by Elizabeth Collett and published by EPC: “The EU Immigration Pact - from Hague to Stockholm, via Paris”. For further information: http: //http://www.epc.eu/TEWN/pdf/304970248_EU%20Immigration%20Pact.pdf (B.C./transl.rh)