EU faces asylum questions

The EU will discuss how to deal with large numbers of refugees

By Janet Barrie in Brussels

European Union justice and home affairs ministers are meeting in Brussels to try and agree common proposals on an EU-wide approach to asylum and immigration.

Sweden, which currently holds the EU presidency, has warned that progress in this area has been too slow.

The EU is aiming for a common asylum and immigration policy by 2004.

But the sensitivity of the whole issue in each of the member states has made progress very slow and deadlines are slipping.

Penalties

The ministers may, though, decide this week to take the significant step of adopting a number of binding measures on asylum and immigration across the EU for the first time.

One of these is harmonising penalties on human traffickers who smuggle refugees into the European Union.

Ministers want to harmonise penalties for smugglers

Human rights groups say, though, the laws may criminalise people bringing in genuine refugees for humanitarian reasons, as well as those doing it for profit.

The ministers will also look at emergency measures to give temporary protection to refugees arriving in large numbers, like those who fled the fighting in Bosnia and Kosovo.

The EU says this will guarantee them access to housing, education and welfare while their claims are processed.

They will also discuss fixing penalties against airlines and other carriers bringing people into the EU without proper documentation.

And they will look at measures on family reunification - how many members of a refugee's family should be allowed to come to the EU once that refugee has been given permission to stay.