Migrations - [02/02/2009]

Peruvian Members of Congress and CIDOB analyse the “Return Directive”

What is the scope of the “Return Directive” and in what ways does it affect Spanish legislation? What kind of immigration does the European Union want? How is irregularity being managed in Spain and in other European countries? What are the conditions for the internment of foreigners in an irregular situation in holding centres? These were just some of the questions asked during the work meeting held by the Migrations Programme of the CIDOB Foundation on 30 January with a delegation of 15 Peruvian Members of Congress, in a session aimed at analysing the latest innovations in the area of Europe's policy on migration.

The meeting with the Peruvian Members of Parliament (who represent seven of Peru's political parties) took place within the framework of a visit organised by the Carolina Foundation, with the aim of explaining Spain's legislation and action in the area of immigration. This field is of particular importance since the Spanish Parliament and the European Council recently passed the “Return Directive” (Directive 2008/115/EC, of 16 December 2008 concerning common regulations and procedures in Member States for the return of citizens of third countries in an irregular situation). This directive (which has been dubbed the “directive of shame”) has met with harsh criticism in Latin America, where it has been perceived as a tightening of Europe's migration policy, and which furthermore has not been adequately explained by the EU authorities.

In this context, the purpose of the presentation chaired by Gemma Pinyol (Coordinator of the CIDOB Foundation's Migrations Programme) was to explain the genesis of this directive and the main regulatory framework in the area of European migration policy, from the Tampere Programme to the recently-approved European Pact on Immigration and Asylum. The 15 Members of Parliament (including Santiago Fujimori, the President of the Foreign Relations Commission of the Peruvian Congress, and Ambassador Miguel Palomino de la Gala, the Peruvian Consul in Barcelona) had the opportunity to express their specific concerns on behalf of Peruvians residing in Spain (and who currently number 126,697, according to the latest official figures).

A meeting with the CIDOB Foundation gave the MPs the chance to experience a different approach to the issue, following the meetings that the delegation had previously held in Madrid and Barcelona with political representatives and authorities in the area of immigration, including Javier Elorza, the Secretary-General of Consular and Migratory Affairs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and Oriol Amorós, the Immigration Secretary of the Generalitat of Catalonia.