New laws planned to bolster rights of non-EU nationals

Date: 28/09/00

European Commission is putting the finishing touches to planned new legislation designed to bolster the rights of non-EU nationals living in the Union.Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner António Vitorino will propose new rules which would require member states to ensure that people from third countries legally resident in the EU are granted the same right to services such as health care, schooling, public housing and legal assistance as other Union citizens.

Vitorino's aides say the planned legislation would not cover illegal immigrants or asylum seekers. They also stress that the Commission does not intend to draw up a list of Union-wide rights for ethnic minorities. "The idea is to assure that third country citizens who are legally resident in a particular EU member state are granted the same basic rights as the citizens of that country," explained one.

But officials admit that the Commission's definition of 'rights' will probably not include political privileges such as the right to vote in elections - a decision which is likely to anger immigrants rights groups across the Union.

Vitorino will set out his proposals in more detail at a meeting of leading EU race relations experts organised by the French presidency in Paris next week. He will also present a report on the current state of race relations in Europe.

The Commissioner is drawing up the planned new legislation under new powers granted to his institution by the 1997 Amsterdam Treaty.

But even though the Union executive now has the right to propose EU-wide race rules, drafting proposals which will be workable in practice is likely to prove difficult.

In theory, most member states already grant third- country nationals living on their territory most of the basic rights likely to be covered by the planned new law. But it is difficult to verify that these rights are being respected on the ground.

Immigrant support groups complain that third- country nationals regularly face discrimination at the hands of both local authorities and Union police forces despite the existence of laws designed to protect their rights.

The European Commission is putting the finishing touches to planned new legislation designed to bolster the rights of non-EU nationals living in the Union.