25/06/2008
American countries coordinate positions on EU migration law at the OAS
The American countries will hold their first joint meeting to coordinate positions on the EU migration law passed by the European Parliament to expel illegal immigrants, thus affecting millions of Latin American citizens in Europe.
The meeting has an unprecedented agenda seeking to develop a single position vis-à-vis the European decision to strengthen Europe’s migration laws.
The EU Directive, passed on June 17, 2008, criminalises migration. It provides for an 18-month detention of immigrants who fail to voluntarily leave the continent, and a 5-year re-entry ban.
The law has been broadly rejected in Latin America, the birthplace of millions of immigrants living in Europe.
OAS Secretary-General, José Miguel Insulza, said the directive had a repressive nature.
The MERCOSUR member countries (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Venezuela, which is in the process of becoming a full member, as well as Bolivia and Chile, associate members), announced they will seek a joint position during the MERCOSUR Presidential Summit to be held on June 30, 2008, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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