EUROPEAN heads of state meeting in Seville must resist UK Government proposals to punish developing nations for failing to re-admit rejected asylum seekers, London's Green MEP Jean Lambert said today.
"Tony Blair seems to have abandoned the idea of linking development aid to border controls after it was described as 'silly' by members of his own Government. But plans to make trade agreements conditional on poor nations' asylum records will have the same effect: punishing the poor and forcing ever greater numbers of people to leave their homes in search of life's necessities."
Leaders at the Seville summit should reject tighter controls and a toughening of 'Fortress Europe' in favour of a commitment to meeting international obligations, addressing the push factors' that force migrants to flee their homes and opening new routes of legal entry to meet skills and labour shortages, says the Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament.
"This Government is becoming increasingly isolated on asylum - from other European nations, the European Commission, employers and the general public. A MORI poll published on Monday to mark Refugee Week shows voters in the UK are far more sympathetic to the plight of asylum seekers than the Government. The Green Party is in tune with the attitudes revealed in the survey and offers a workable, humane and sustainable approach to migration," said Mrs Lambert.
"Blair, Aznar and Berlesconi claim to be combating extremists with their draconian proposals - in fact they are imitating them by pandering to the 17 per cent who voted for Le Pen rather than the 83 per cent who did not."
ENDS
Notes to Editors
1. Jean is an acknowledged expert on immigration and asylum. She is the European
Parliament's rapporteur on minimum standards for asylum seekers and has visited
the Sangatte Red Cross Centre and several community refugee projects across
London.
2. This week is Refugee Week of Action and events in support of refugee groups
have been taking place across Europe. Tomorrow (Saturday, June 22) Jean will
address a central London rally in defence of asylum seekers called by a coalition
of refugee groups. For further details contact her office on 020 7407 6280.
3. Jean has published two reports on refugees this week. On Friday, June 14,
she launched a European study into Environmental Refugees and on Tuesday, June
18, she submitted a report on the definitions of refugees and those entitled
to international protection to the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee.
For details of these reports see www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk
or contact Jean's office on 020 7407 6280.
For more information contact Ben Duncan, Press Officer for Jean Lambert MEP
on 020 7407 6280