EU immigration quotas plan encounters resistance
The plan to set up European immigration quotas on immigration was resisted yesterday by some EU governments amid doubts about how the system would actually work in practice.
The idea is to decide at a national level how many people to admit and from what country, but with the European Commission playing a co-ordinating role.
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The Commission will present a study next Spring (Photo: European Commission)
This quota system could serve as an incentive for third countries to stop illegal immigrants coming to the EU, and make them more willing to sign re-admission agreements, which have been dragging on for years.
Yet some EU countries are critical about the plan. Finland and Germany want this issue to remain within the competence of the member states. At the moment, Berlin is reluctant to embark on discussions on a new quota system - it is currently negotiating a new internal law on immigration.
The UK - although it is willing to consider the idea - first wants to see how the system would work.
The Commission will be presenting a study next spring on this issue, which will be drawn up with the help of experts from each member state.
