Brussels, 30/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 29 September, the committee on foreign affairs of the European Parliament held a meeting behind closed doors with the deputy director general of DG Relex (European Commission) to discuss relations with Libya, a country with which the Commission is currently negotiating a framework cooperation agreement. Hugues Mingarelli confirmed to the MEPs the imminent nature of the conclusion of this agreement, which includes a major plank on containing the wave of migrants travelling via Libya. No further indications have emerged from this secret meeting. For the time being, only Véronique de Keyser (Belgian Socialist and Vice-President of the Socialists and Democrats Group) has made any public comments on Mr Mingarelli's statements.
She notes that this agreement "provides, amongst other things, for the possible return to that country of any Libyan national attempting to enter Europe illegally, but also of any other illegal immigrant who has travelled via Libya" (our translation). This, she said, would be "shameful for Europe", as the EU "would be helping" Libya to improve its border controls and create detention centres, despite the "deplorable human rights situation" in the country, which has given rise to no doubts over the "dreadful, possibly even dangerous, detention conditions" which await any detainees. "Are you aware that you are sending immigrants back to Libyan detention centres who would be risking their lives there? In this case, we should instead be offering them asylum rights in Europe!" she continued, pointing out that envisaged framework agreement does not as yet have any properly defined legal basis. "Effectively, we do not yet know whether the Parliament will have to approve it. If the Parliament does not have to give the agreement its green light, as it would do for any other cooperation agreement, that would be quite a dirty trick", Ms de Keyser stressed. She went on to lament the fact that this would be "a gift to Silvio Berlusconi, who has concluded bilateral agreements with Libya". This is "veritable baksheesh, without the slightest democratic control", the Belgian Socialist concluded. (F.B./transl.fl)