Brussels, 11/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - The Council of the European Union officially endorsed, on Tuesday 9 December during the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council, the so-called “returns” directive which is intended to facilitate the expulsion of illegal immigrants from the EU. One of the most disputed provisions of the text provides for extension of the duration of custody to 18 months at most. As some countries do not have a maximum duration, these 18 months could represent an improvement, say those promoting the directive. On the other hand, those opposed highlight the danger of seeing all States coming into line with these 18 months. Another black point of the directive is the fact that illegal immigrants could be banned from European Union territory for five years. The French Socialist delegation bemoaned the fact that endorsement had taken place “on the quiet” when, at the vote in Parliament on 18 June this year, many left-wing MEPs had voted against the text (EUROPE 9685). The Socialist Group had then submitted ten amendments during the vote on the protection of minors, the priority of voluntary return, the re-entry ban, custody duration, on persons severely ill and on legal aid in order to restore a humanitarian aspect to the text. None of these ten amendments was adopted. Amnesty International, for its part, said that formal adoption of the returns directive came at a bad time in that Europe is this year celebrating its 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The NGO above all urged member states that currently apply more flexible rules not to take adoption of the directive as a pretext to toughen their system. (B.C./transl.jl)