Calls for Deportees To Have More Rights

The European Commission will be urged to give EU nationals the right to challenge decisions which affect their freedom to move around the EU and nationals from outside the union to challenge deportation orders and decisions to refuse them entry. The Meijers Committee, established in 1990 by five non-governmental organizations (NGOs), will present Brussels with a proposal to see that individuals have effective access to an impartial judge and the right to redress perceived injustices. The NGOs are calling on the Commission to legislate. "The [Commission] directive is proposed because effective access to an impartial court against government measures has been neglected in EU law so far," said Pieter Boeles, Professor at the University of Leiden and one of the persons who drafted the proposal. "At the same time considerable powers to control and repress individuals have been created under the Treaty of the European Union." Under the proposal, member states would be obliged to create effective legal remedies for any individual who is refused entry to the EU. It would also apply if they are not given a visa or residence permit, or when personal information including biometrical (fingerprints, iris scanning) and DNA information has been taken. However, this proposal may be a difficult one to accept, Boeles. "Unfortunately the political climate is not very favourable for proposals stressing the need to access to justice for individuals, especially when immigration and border control are at issue." (EUObserver.com)